ROYAL  GOOD 
FELLOW 


HIRAM  W.  HAYES 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


'It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  young  and  handsome,  dear; 
but  it  is  a  greater  to  be  good." — Page  168. 


A  Royal  Good  Fellow 


BY 

HIRAM  W.  HAYES 


(AUTHOR  OF  PAUL  ANTHONY,  CHRISTIAN;  THE  PEACE- 
MAKERS; BIBLE  STORIES  RETOLD) 


(  Copyright  1910  by  Georgia  E.  Hayet ) 


PUBLISHED     BT 

THE    HOWERTON     PRESS 

THE    SHERMAN 
WASHINGTON      D.   C. 


TO  MY  SON 

Who,  like  many  another  young  man,  is  slowly  learn- 
ing that  a  good  lime  comes  from  within  and 
not  from  without,  this  book  is  affec- 
tionately dedicated. 

—  Hiram  W .  Hayes. 


2130452 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


CHAPTER  ONE 

"IT'S  no  use!"  declared  Uncle  Josiah 
as  he  stood  on  the  back  porch  with  a 
basket  of  corn  on  his  arm,  "and  you 
might  just  exactly  as  well  give  it  up 
first  as  last.  He's  a  regular  old  skin- 
flint and  he'll  never  let  go  of  an  acre  of 
that  land  or  a  dollar  of  that  money  as 
long  as  he  can  shut  his  thumb  over  his 
fingers." 

"Why,  Josiah!"  exclaimed  Aunt 
Clara,  "aren't  you  ashamed  to  talk  like 
that  about  your  neighbors.  Who  made 
you  to  judge  over  the  actions  of  your 
brother — " 

"Brother!"  interrupted  Uncle  Josiah, 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Brother!  If  that  is  my  brother  I  am 
certainly  ashamed  of  the  whole  human 
family." 

Aunt  Clara  threw  up  her  hands  in  a 
deprecatory  manner.  To  her  chari- 
table disposition  there  could  be  no 
excuse  for  criticising  one's  neighbor, 
nor  could  any  one  of  her  acquaintances 
act  so  badly  that  she  could  not  find 
some  sort  of  an  excuse  for  him.  And 
besides,  Thomas  Dennison  was  one  of 
the  pillars  of  the  church  to  which  Aunt 
Clara  had  belonged  for  more  than  forty 
years  and  during  most  of  that  time  had 
been  held  up  by  her  as  a  model  of  virtue 
to  Uncle  Josiah,  whose  manners  and 
dress  were  not  such  as  met  with  the 
approval  of  his  better  educated  and 
more  dignified  little  wife;  for  it  must 
be  understood  that  Aunt  Clara  was 
descended  from  the  purest  of  colonial 
stock,  while  Uncle  Josiah  had  no  in- 
terest or  knowledge  of  his  ancestry  for 
more  than  a  generation  back. 

How  Uncle  Josiah  was  ever  so  fortu- 
nate as  to  win  for  his  wife  such  a  girl 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

as  Aunt  Clara  must  have  been  in  her 
teens,  or  how  Aunt  Clara  ever  consented 
to  marry  such  a  swain  as  Uncle  Josiah 
must  have  been  in  his  youth,  was  al- 
ways a  mystery  to  the  younger  genera- 
tion, and  they  often  asked  her.  Loyal 
to  the  last,  her  replies  were  always 
evasive;  but  Aunt  Philinda,  Aunt 
Clara's  maiden  sister,  declared  that  it 
was  Uncle  Josiah's  voice;  for  Uncle 
Josiah,  untutored  and  unconcerned  as 
he  was  about  his  personal  appearance, 
had  been  a  sweet  singer.  Even  now, 
there  was  no  one  in  the  family  who 
could  take  such  good  care  of  the  grand- 
children, or  so  quickly  sing  the  babies 
to  sleep. 

As  the  young  folks  grew  a  bit  older, 
however,  they  ceased  to  wonder  at  the 
match,  for  they  found  something  in 
Uncle  Josiah  which  invariably  drew 
everyone  toward  him.  Kindly  in  dis- 
position and  even  in  temperament, 
everything  and  everybody  was  his  friend 
—from  the  fierce  old  ram  which  would 
allow  no  one  else  in  the  field,  to  the 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

little  black  pickaninny  that  rolled 
around  on  the  dirt  in  front  of  Judy's 
cabin.  Usually  he  was  the  mildest  of 
men,  but  on  occasion  —  and  this  was 
an  occasion  —  he  allowed  what  he 
termed  his  "righteous  indignation"  to 
express  itself,  and  then  the  things  he 
could  say,  and  do  —  if  it  reached  that 
point  —  were  many  and  forcible. 

In  this  particular  instance,  there 
seemed  abundant  reason  for  an  out- 
burst, and  this  was  the  way  of  it : 

Among  the  two  thousand  residents  of 
Sharon  was  Dame  Rebecca  Babcock — 
Aunt  Becky  everyone  called  her  — 
who  lived  down  where  the  little  river 
upon  which  Sharon  is  located  runs 
under  the  railroad.  It  might  seem 
better  to  some  who  have  never  visited 
Sharon,  to  say  that  she  lived  down  by 
the  railroad  bridge  over  the  river,  but 
this  would  not  have  been  strictly  cor- 
rect; for  the  great  trestle  that  ran  from 
the  bluff  on  the  north,  out  over  the 
river  bottoms  and  finally  connected 
with  the  rising  land  on  the  south,  was 

6 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

more  than  a  bridge;  and  the  span  that 
crossed  the  river  was  a  very  small  part 
of  the  trestle.  So,  really,  it  is  right 
where  the  river  runs  under  the  railroad 
that  Aunt  Becky  lived. 

Time  was  when  Aunt  Becky's  hus- 
band had  been  one  of  the  most  pros- 
perous residents  of  Sharon.  He  had 
owned  the  mill,  located  a  little  farther 
down  the  stream,  and  had  been  the 
chief  buyer  of  the  farm  produce  mar- 
keted in  the  little  southern  village. 

This  was  in  the  days  before  the  rail- 
road came  to  Sharon,  and  Elijah  Bab- 
cock  had  built  a  small  barge  line  which 
was  used  for  carrying  this  produce 
down  the  little  river  to  the  bigger  one, 
some  forty  miles  away. 

When  the  railroad  came  along,  it 
brought  with  it  one  Thomas  Dennison. 
The  railroad  soon  put  the  Babcock 
barge  line  out  of  commission  and 
Thomas  Dennison,  because  of  privileges 
granted  him  by  the  railroad,  soon  put 
Aunt  Becky's  husband  out  of  the  pro- 
duce business. 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

In  order  to  save  his  other  belongings, 
Mr.  Babcock  proposed  a  partnership 
with  Mr.  Dennison  and  the  proposal 
was  accepted.  For  several  years  there- 
after the  firm  of  Thomas  Dennison 
&  Co.  flourished  and  Mr.  Babcock 
prospered  more  than  ever.  The  firm 
erected  a  building  in  keeping  with  the 
growth  of  the  village  and  Mr.  Babcock 
built  him  a  bigger  house.  From  simple 
produce  buyers  the  firm  enlarged  into 
general  merchandise  and  was  consid- 
ered a  strong  concern. 

But  one  day  Elijah  Babcock  went  to 
a  nearby  city  to  buy  goods.  It  hap- 
pened that  the  room  to  which  he  was 
assigned  in  the  hotel  had  a  defective 
gas  jet  and  the  next  morning  a  telegram 
from  the  hotel  manager  to  Aunt  Becky 
told  of  the  fatal  result. 

When  they  came  to  read  his  will, 
they  found  that  Mr.  Babcock  had  made 
his  partner  his  sole  executor,  and  in 
course  of  time  the  executor  announced 
that  Mr.  Babcock  was  hopelessly  in 
debt  to  the  firm  and  that  it  would  take 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

his  entire  estate  to  pay  the  indebted- 
ness. All  that  his  wife  had  was  a 
couple  of  thousand  dollars  of  life  insur- 
ance and  the  right  to  use  the  homestead. 

Of  course  she  was  greatly  grieved 
that  her  husband  should  have  died  in 
debt,  and  when  the  executor  showed  her 
that  if  she  wrould  sign  off  her  interest  in 
the  property  it  would  clear  her  husband's 
name  from  any  stigma,  she  agreed  to 
the  proposition  and  signed  herself  out 
of  house  and  home.  With  part  of  the 
insurance  money,  she  had  bought  the 
little  place  under  the  railroad,  and  by 
hard  work  and  the  greatest  economy 
had  managed  to  keep  herself  and  raise 
to  womanhood  a  daughter,  who  had 
later  married  a  young  man  as  poor  as 
herself.  Soon  afterward  he  had  been 
attacked  by  the  gold  fever,  and  with  his 
wife  had  gone  to  Cripple  Creek. 

All  this  happened  nearly  a  score  of 
years  before  the  conversation  which 
opens  this  narrative. 

Since  the  departure  of  her  daughter, 
Aunt  Becky  had  lived  as  best  she  could 

9 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

with  the  help  of  an  occasional  load  of 
wood,  or  a  barrel  of  potatoes  or  a  couple 
of  bags  of  meal  unexpectedly  left  at  her 
back  door  by  Uncle  Josiah.  Now  she 
had  reached  a  point  where  she  could 
no  longer  take  care  of  herself  and  it 
was  a  suggestion  by  Aunt  Clara  that 
Thomas  Dennison  might  be  induced  to 
help  her  that  had  called  forth  Uncle 
Josiah's  outburst. 

"But  why  shouldn't  he  do  something 
for  her?"  insisted  Aunt  Clara,  return- 
ing to  the  attack  after  a  brief  pause. 

"No  reason  why,"  replied  Uncle 
Josiah,  "except  —  ' 

"Then  why  do  you  think  he  won't?" 
she  interrupted. 

Uncle  Josiah  stopped  short  and  look- 
ed at  his  wife  in  unbounded  surprise. 
That  any  one  should  ask  such  a  ques- 
tion about  Thomas  Dennison  was  more 
than  he  could  understand  and  for  a 
minute  he  was  unable  to  speak;  but 
the  basket  of  corn  on  his  arm  finally 
suggested  a  reply. 

'If  you'll   come  down  to   the   pen 

10 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

while  I  feed  this  corn  to  the  hogs,"  he 
said,  "I'll  show  you  the  reason  why." 

"But  men  are  not  swine,  Josiah!" 

"Who's  talking  about  men!"  ex- 
claimed Uncle  Josiah,  as  he  stepped 
down  off  the  porch.  "I'm  talking 
about  Tom  Dennison,"  and  off  he 
marched,  leaving  his  wife  more  shocked 
than  she  could  express. 

"Men  are  certainly  queer  creatures," 
soliloquized  Aunt  Clara  as  she  con- 
tinued folding  and  powdering  the  flan- 
nel blankets  and  furs  preparatory  to 
wrapping  them  up  for  the  summer. 
"I  sometimes  wonder  if  they  really  are 
made  in  the  image  and  likeness  of  God 
after  all.  At  any  rate,"  she  continued 
speaking  aloud  to  herself,  "they  are 
more  than  I  can  understand!" 

"Who  is  it  that  you  can't  understand, 
Aunt  Clara  ?"  enquired  a  girlish  voice 
at  her  back. 

"Men,"  replied  the  old  lady  without 
turning,  "and  I  have  had  considerable 
to  do  with  them,  first  and  last,  for  sixty 
years,  more  or  less  —  first  with  my 

11 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

father  then  with  Josiah  and  then  with 
my  own  sons.  It  is  my  firm  opinion, 
Ruth,  that  you  can't  tell  anything  about 
them." 

"Are  there  no  exceptions,  Aunt 
Clara?" 

Aunt  Clara  gave  the  last  blanket  an 
energetic  pat  as  she  turned  to  greet 
her  visitor. 

"There  may  be ;  in  fact  I  suppose  there 
are,  but  I  have  never  met  any,"  and  then 
Aunt  Clara  suddenly  checked  herself. 

"I  wonder,"  she  continued  after  a 
brief  pause  "if  I'm  not  becoming  un- 
charitable ?  And  besides,  I  think  I  do 
know  one  exception?" 

"May  I  know  his  name?"  queried 
Ruth.  "I  hope  he  didn't  live  so  many 
years  ago  that  a  girl  like  me  has  no 
chance  of  seeing  him." 

Aunt  Clara  bent  over  and  kissed  the 
fair  face  of  the  girl  beside  her,  for  al- 
though Aunt  Clara  was  only  Aunt  Clara 
by  courtesy  to  Ruth  and  no  kin  what- 
ever, she  loved  her  like  one  of  her  own 
grandchildren. 

12 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"You  already  know  his  name,"  she 
said,  "and  I  hope  you  will  some  day 
have  the  pleasure  of  meeting  him.  It's 
my  grandson,  Adelbert." 

Ruth  gave  her  head  a  toss  that  upset 
her  hat  and  shook  her  brown  curls 
loose  in  the  wind. 

"I  am  not  so  sure  of  the  pleasure,  and 
if  it  were  not  for  hurting  your  feelings, 
Aunt  Clara,  I  would  say  I  hope  I  shall 
never  see  him.  From  all  I  have  heard 
you  tell  about  him  he  must  be  a  terrible 
prig." 

Aunt  Clara's  brown  eyes  twinkled. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  a  prig?"  she 
asked. 

"Oh,  one  of  those  goody-goody  boys 
who  never  does  anything  wrong  —  at 
least  when  anybody  is  looking  —  and 
is  always  tied  to  his  mother's  apron 
string." 

Aunt  Clara  laughed  outright.  It 
was  a  silvery  laugh,  for  in  spite  of  her 
admission  to  sixty  years,  you  would 
never  have  guessed  it  from  Aunt  Clara's 
voice. 

13 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Where  did  you  ever  get  such  an 
idea  as  that  of  Adelbert?" 

"Aren't  you  always  telling  what  a 
model  he  is  and  what  an  exception  to 
the  general  rule?  I  suppose  he  is  a 
regular  Y.  M.  C.  A.  young  man  with 
a  sanctimonious  face  and  hair  cut 
square  across  the  back." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean  by  a 
'regular  Y.  M.  C.  A.  young  man,'  Ruth. 
I  am  sure  from  his  actions  he  is  an 
earnest  Christian,  but  I  hardly  think 
he  fits  your  description." 

"Well,  I'll  not  judge  him  till  I  see 
him;  but  I  am  sure  that  you  and  I  are 
looking  at  him  through  different  eyes. 
If  he  were  my  grandson  I  expect  I 
should  think  he  was  perfection,  too. 
Grandmothers  always  do." 

"Not  always,"  replied  Aunt  Clara 
with  just  a  touch  of  sadness  in  her 
voice.  "Now  there  is  Winfield.  I  re- 
gret to  say  that  I  can  not  help  grieving 
over  his  ways  many  times." 

"Oh,  Win's  all  right,  Aunt  Clara;  he 
may  be  a  little  wild,  but  I  have  known 

14 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

him  ever  since  we  moved  here  seven 
years  ago,  and  I  am  sure  he  is  all  right 
at  heart." 

"I  hope  so,  Ruth!" 

"I  know  he  is.  You  can't  go  to 
school  with  a  boy  from  the  time  you're 
ten  till  you're  seventeen  without  know- 
ing him.  I  do  wish,  though,  he  were 
not  quite  so  selfish,"  and  Ruth's  face 
took  on  the  least  bit  of  a  troubled  took. 

"I  shall  have  to  get  Adelbert  after 
him,"  remarked  Aunt  Clara  as  she 
began  tying  up  her  bundle. 

"I  should  say  that  was  about  the 
last  thing  to  do,"  declared  Ruth  with 
considerable  spirit.  "Win  has  been 
told  about  Adelbert's  goodness  so  often 
that  he  detests  the  very  name." 

Aunt  Clara  looked  up  in  the  greatest 
surprise. 

"Why,  Ruthie!"  she  exclaimed.  "Can 
this  be  possible.  They  were  great 
friends  as  boys." 

"As  little  boys,  Aunt  Clara.  That 
must  have  been  —  " 

15 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Ten  years  ago,"  interjected  Aunt 
Clara. 

"  Now  they  are  big  boys  —  young 
men,  they  think." 

Aunt  Clara  nodded  her  head.  "How 
time  does  fly!"  she  exclaimed.  'Yes, 
Ruth,  you  are  right.  They  are  young 
men.  Why  Adelbert  graduates  from 
Cornell  this  year.  That's  why  he  is 
coming  to  pay  us  a  visit.  His  father 
wants  him  to  start  in  business  this  fall." 

"Well,  for  your  sake,  Aunt  Clara,  I 
hope  he'll  have  a  good  time  here,  but 
I'm  afraid  he  won't  take  very  well  with 
the  boys  and  girls  in  Sharon.  They  do 
hate  a  prig!" 

"We  shall  see,  Ruth!  We  shall  see! 
But  what's  the  errand  this  morning.  I 
have  been  so  busy  with  my  family  that 
I  haven't  asked  about  yours." 

"It  isn't  my  family  at  all.  It's  about 
Aunt  Becky  Babcock.  Do  you  know, 
they  say  that  Mr.  Dennison  has  held  a 
mortgage  on  her  little  place  for  years 
and  now  that  she  can't  pay  him  any 

16 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

more,  he's  going  to  have  her  sent  to 
the  poor-house." 

'The  poor-house!"  exclaimed  Aunt 
Clara  sinking  down  into  the  old  rocking 
chair.  "Why,  child,  you  can't  mean 
it!" 

Then  as  she  caught  sight  of  her  hus- 
band coming  out  of  the  woodshed  she 
called:  "Josiah,  will  you  hear  this: 
Thomas  Dennison  is  going  to  take 
away  Aunt  Becky's  place  and  send  her 
to  the  poor-house!  I  can't  believe  it!" 

For  a  minute  Uncle  Josiah  was  silent. 
Then  striking  his  right  fist  into  the 
palm  of  his  left  hand  he  exclaimed: 

"  By  cracky !  The  more  I  see  of  some 
men,  the  better  I  think  of  hogs!" 


17 


CHAPTER  TWO 

One  of  the  best  proofs  ever  offered 
that  the  so-called  law  of  heredity  is  in 
reality  no  law,  was  Sally  Jones,  Ruth's 
most  intimate  friend. 

Of  all  the  girls  in  Sharon,  Sally  was 
by  far  the  most  lovable  and  the  most 
sought  after  by  all  the  young  chaps 
who  went  to  make  up  the  masculine 
element  of  Sharon  society.  With  gold- 
en hair,  ruby  lips  and  a  complexion  as 
fair  as  the  snow  drops  which  grew  in 
profusion  in  her  grandfather's  front 
yard,  she  was  not  only  as  pretty  as  a 
picture,  but  a  whole  lot  prettier;  and 
she  was  just  as  kind  and  loving  as  she 
was  pretty. 

Yet  Sally's  mother  was  Thomas 
Dennison's  only  child;  and  she,  too, 
was  quite  as  unlike  her  father  as  any 
two  persons  could  be.  The  only  mem- 
ber of  Sally's  family  who  at  all  resem- 

18 


bled  her  grandfather  was  her  brother 
Herbert, — and  even  in  his  case  there  was 
just  about  as  much  difference  between 
him  and  his  grandfather  as  there  was 
similarity. 

As  may  have  been  guessed  from  the 
conversation  we  have  heard  about  him, 
Thomas  Dennison  was  a  man  who  used 
almost  any  means  to  make  a  dollar  and 
when  once  made,  he  hung  on  to  it  with 
a  determination  worthy  of  a  better 
cause.  On  the  other  hand,  Bert  Jones, 
as  he  was  commonly  called,  was  a 
spendthrift.  Otherwise  he  had  many 
of  his  grandfather's  ways  and,  even  as 
a  boy,  cared  little  for  the  feelings  or 
rights  of  others  so  long  as  he  had  what 
he  was  pleased  to  call  a  good  time. 

As  he  grew  into  young  manhood, 
this  trait  of  his  character  became  more 
noticeable,  until  at  the  age  of  twenty 
his  chums  were  beginning  to  comment 
upon  it,  with  the  result  that  upon  a 
number  of  recent  occasions  he  had  been 
left  entirely  out  of  the  list  of  desirable 
fellows  when  arrangements  for  some 

19 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

party  or  entertainment  were  being  made. 

"There's  no  use  of  asking  him  to  do 
anything,"  explained  Win  King,  when 
the  boys  were  talking  the  matter  over, 
"because  he  won't  do  a  thing  unless  he 
can  run  the  whole  show." 

And  Win  was  supposed  to  know,  for 
Win  and  Bert  had  always  been  con- 
sidered the  closest  chums. 

Later,  this  conversation  was  repeated 
to  Ruth  by  Win  himself. 

"Don't  you  think  it's  so?"  he  asked 
her. 

"It  may  be,"  she  replied,  "but  look 
out,  Win,  that  you  don't  fall  into  the 
same  habit." 

"What  do  you  mean?"  he  asked. 

"Just  that,"  she  replied.  "I  find  it 
right  hard  not  to  want  to  do  every- 
thing my  own  way  and  boys,  I  fancy, 
are  not  greatly  different  from  girls." 

Win  looked  at  Ruth  for  several 
minutes  and  gave  his  nose  a  little  pull 
as  was  his  wont  when  he  was  thinking- 
hard. 

20 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Then  you  don't  mean  anything 
personal  ?"  he  finally  asked. 

"I  don't  know  but  I  do,"  she  replied 
slowly. 

"Why,  Ruth!  You  don't  think  I'm 
selfish,  do  you?  I'd  do  anything  for 
you!"  and  he  looked  thoroughly  in 
earnest. 

Ruth  smiled  at  his  ardor. 

"I'll  take  your  wrord  for  it,"  she  re- 
plied, "but  I'm  not  expecting  to  make 
you  prove  it." 

"Well,  you  needn't  be  afraid.  I 
mean  it." 

"And  I  really  believe  he  did,"  said 
Ruth  to  Sally  in  telling  her  of  their 
conversation  a  few  days  later.  "You 
know  Win  and  I  have  been  almost  like 
brother  and  sister  ever  since  we  first 
moved  here  from  Nashville." 

"I'm  awfully  sorry  that  Bert  acts  as 
he  does,"  explained  Sally  in  defense  of 
her  brother.  "Mother  has  spoken  to 
him  about  it;  but  grandfather  has 
some  funny  ideas  as  to  what  men  ought 
to  do,  and  he  sort  of  stands  by  Bert. 

21 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

He  says  if  a  man  doesn't  look  out  for 
himself,  nobody  else  will." 

"Folks  say  your  grandfather  is  a 
very  successful  man,"  replied  Ruth 
guardedly,  for  Ruth  was  a  wise  little 
body  and  Sally's  grandfather  was  one 
of  the  persons  she  never  discussed  with 
her  friend.  "He's  easily  the  richest 
man  in  Sharon,  everybody  says." 

"And  he's  so  kind  to  me  —  and 
Bert,"  Sally  added  after  a  minute. 
"There's  nobody  quite  like  grand- 
father, I  think." 

"Nobody  could  help  being  kind  to 
you!"  exclaimed  Ruth  throwing  her 
arm  lovingly  around  Sally's  waist:  "but 


"Is  the  very  best  brother  in  the 
world!"  finished  Sally.  "I'm  so  sorry 
you  don't  like  him." 

"But  I  do  like  him,  Sally.  I  like 
everything  that  belongs  to  you.  I  even 
like  old  Caesar"  —  naming  Sally's 
Great  Dane  —  "although  he  almost 
knocks  me  over  every  time  I  come  near 
him." 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  think,"  continued  Sally  not  to  be 
led  away  from  the  object  she  had  in 
mind,  "that  grandfather  likes  Bert 
even  better  than  he  does  me!" 

"Impossible!"  exclaimed  Ruth,  sur- 
prised that  anyone  could  even  suggest 
such  a  thing. 

Still  Sally  was  not  far  from  right. 
There  was  no  one  in  the  world  by  whom 
Thomas  Dennison  set  so  great  store  as 
by  his  grandson,  Herbert.  Having  had 
no  son  of  his  own,  he  had  for  years  been 
greatly  disappointed ;  and  when  Herbert 
was  born,  he  showed  more  delight  than 
he  had  ever  been  known  to  express. 
During  the  boy's  childhood  he  had 
given  him  everything  he  asked  for,  and 
now  that  Herbert  was  coming  of  age, 
he  had  announced  that  he  proposed  to 
take  him  into  his  own  business,  pre- 
paratory to  turning  it  over  to  him  en- 
tirely in  a  few  years. 

All  of  which,  it  may  well  be  imag- 
ined, did  not  tend  to  lessen  Herbert's 
good  opinion  of  himself. 

There  were  a  number  of  boys,  and 

23 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

men,  too,  for  that  matter,  who  toadied  to 
Herbert  on  account  of  his  grandfather's 
wealth;  and  it  can  readily  be  believed 
that  the  announcement  of  his  future 
prospects  did  not  tend  to  lessen  their 
bearing  toward  him.  In  fact,  taken  all 
in  all,  it  is  small  wonder  that  Herbert 
had  become  selfish  and  overbearing. 

On  the  other  hand,  Herbert  was  what 
some  called  a  good  fellow.  As  has  been 
said,  he  was  a  spendthrift,  but  he  had 
the  faculty  of  spending  the  money  his 
grandfather  allowed  him  where  it  would 
increase  his  popularity  with  a  certain 
class.  When  occasion  demanded,  he 
could  even  be  liberal  in  helping  a  less 
wealthy  companion,  and  there  were 
few  among  the  class  just  referred  to 
who  did  not  owe  him  more  or  less. 

"I  can't  see  where  the  fellows  have 
any  kick  coming,"  Herbert  declared  in 
talking  over  the  action  of  his  chums 
with  Sally  and  Ruth  as  they  sat  out  on 
the  lawn  one  afternoon.  "They're  all 
of  them  glad  enough  to  come  to  me 
when  they  want  to  borrow  five." 

24 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"But  you  can't  buy  friends,"  said 
Ruth. 

"And  if  you  do,  they  won't  stay 
bought,"  added  Sally,  for,  young  as  she 
was,  Sally  had  stumbled  upon  a  great 
truth  —  one  which  it  has  taken  many  a 
man  years  to  find  out. 

"I  sometimes  think,"  ventured  Ruth, 
"that  loaning  money  to  the  boys  simply 
makes  them  jealous.  Besides,  I  have 
no  doubt  you  often  loan  them  money 
when  they  would  be  better  without  it." 

Herbert  smiled  a  knowing  smile  as 
he  replied: 

*  You  girls  have  become  mighty  wise, 
it  seems  to  me.  If  I  can't  make  friends 
in  my  own  way,  I  don't  want  them. 
That's  all." 

"Perhaps  you  might  learn  to  change 
your  way,"  suggested  Ruth.  "One  is 
never  too  old  to  learn,  they  say." 

"No,"  laughed  Herbert,  "my  age 
doesn't  seem  to  be  much  of  a  barrier. 
But  I  can't  see  why  my  way  isn't  just 
as  good  as  any  other  way.  You  can't 

25 


please  everybody  no  matter  what  you 
do." 

"  You  can't  please  anybody  no  matter 
what  you  do,"  added  a  voice  behind 
them. 

They  turned  to  greet  the  newcomer, 
a  girl  some  two  years  younger  than 
Sally,  who  had  approached  unnoticed 
from  the  side  street. 

"Oh,  it's  you,  Kate!"  exclaimed  Her- 
bert. 'You  must  have  good  ears." 

"1  have  —  sometimes.  But  it's  so. 
It  just  seems  that  you  can't  please  any- 
one, no  matter  what  you  do." 

"Have  you  tried  ?"  asked  Sally. 

"Course  I've  tried;  but  no  matter 
what  I  do  some  one  finds  fault  with 
me.  My  folks  seem  to  think  a  girl 
never  ought  to  do  anything  but  study 
and  work." 

"Not  quite  as  bad  as  that,"  laughed 
Ruth. 

"Yes,  it  is.  Now  only  last  night  I 
wanted  to  go  to  see  those  new  moving 
pictures  instead  of  studying,  and  mother 
thought  it  was  awful.  Said  I  ought  to  be 

26 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

sure  I  was  ready  for  my  examination." 

"Well,  hadn't  you?"  asked  Sally 
archly. 

"Maybe  I  had,  but  I  could  have  done 
that  later." 

"Can't  you  see  the  pictures  just  as 
well  tonight?" 

"Oh,  I  suppose  so,  if  mother  don't 
think  of  something  else.  But  she  won't 
let  me  go  out  alone  evenings.  I  can't 
see  why;  other  girls  go." 

"I  think  your  mother  is  right,"  said 
Sally.  "I  don't  think  girls  ought  to 
be  out  alone  evenings." 

"Pshaw!"  exclaimed  Herbert.  "Why 
not?" 

Sally  looked  at  him  earnestly  as  she 
said: 

"Didn't  you  tell  me  only  two  days 
ago,  Bert,  that  you  wrere  glad  I  wasn't 
always  'prowling  about  the  streets'  as 
you  expressed  it  ?" 

"Oh,  well  —  you're  different." 

Ruth  and  Sally  laughed,  while  Kate 
exclaimed  with  an  air  of  pique: 

27 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"  Why  is  she  different  ?  Just  because 
she's  your  sister?" 

"Oh,  I  don't  know,"  replied  Her- 
bert. "Sally  seems  made  for  home; 
that's  all." 

Then  seeing  that  he  was  getting  him- 
self into  a  tangle  he  exclaimed : 

"But  that  doesn't  change  what  I 
first  said  —  that  you  can't  please  every- 
body." 

"I  think  that's  so  too,"  declared 
Ruth. 

"I  never  saw  but  one  person  who 
appeared  to,  I'll  admit,"  said  Sally. 
"But  he  did." 

"He  must  have  been  a  wonder," 
exclaimed  Bert. 

"Well  —  now  I  come  to  think  of  it 
—  I  don't  know  but  he  was ;  but  I  never 
thought  of  it  before.  It  just  kind  of 
seemed  natural  for  him  always  to  do 
the  right  thing." 

"For  goodness  sake,  Sally,  tell  us 
about  him,"  said  Kate.  "Where  did 
you  meet  him." 

"Oh,  up  at  Cayuga  lake,  where  we 

28 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

spent  last  summer.  He  was  camping 
over  at  Seneca  Point  with  half  a  dozen 
other  college  boys.  His  name  is  Del 
Henderson." 

"Del  Henderson!"  exclaimed  Ruth. 
;<You  don't  mean  Aunt  Clara's  Adel- 
bert,  do  you  ?"  and  she  looked  at  Sally 
in  the  most  amused  manner. 

"The  very  same,"  replied  Sally. 
"Do  you  know  him?" 

"No,  and  I  don't  think  I  want  to. 
I  like  good  boys,  but  I'm  afraid  he'd 
suit  me  too  well." 

Sally  laughed  merrily. 

"Well,  yes,  he  is  pretty  good,"  she 
admitted,  "but  I  liked  him  —  and  so 
did  everybody  else,"  she  added  quickly 
seeing  the  amused  smile  on  the  faces 
of  the  others. 

"He's  coming  down  here  this  sum- 
mer," ventured  Ruth. 

"This  summer?"  queried  Herbert. 
"Coming  down  here  in  the  summer? 
I  should  think  he'd  rather  stay  up 
north  where  it's  cool  and  come  down 
here  in  the  fall." 

29 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  believe  he's  going  into  business 
this  fall,"  explained  Ruth. 

"And  this  was  the  only  chance  he 
had  to  pay  his  grandparents  a  visit,  I 
suppose  ?" 

"Sure!  And  Aunt  Clara  is  looking 
forward  to  the  visit  as  the  time  of  her 
life." 

"I  have  no  doubt  that  is  why  he  is 
coming,"  said  Sally.  "I  am  sure  if  he 
were  consulting  his  own  pleasure  en- 
tirely he  would  much  rather  go  north." 

"You  seem  to  have  learned  his 
thoughts  and  ideas  pretty  well,"  sug- 
gested Ruth.  "But  I  suppose  he  is 
such  a  goody-goody  that  he  spends 
most  of  his  time  telling  his  plans  to  the 
girls  — " 

"  Just  like  any  other  nice  young  lady," 
laughed  Herbert  sarcastically. 

"And  say,  Sally,"  continued  Ruth, 
"does  he  really  wear  his  hair  cut 
straight  across  the  back,  or  does  he  let 
it  grow  long  like  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  ?" 

Again  Sally  burst  into  a  merry 
laugh. 

30 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

'You  certainly  have  painted  a  pic- 
ture!" she  finally  managed  to  ejacu- 
late. "Where  did  you  get  it  ?" 

"Well,  isn't  it  true  to  life?"  queried 
Ruth. 

"I  refuse  to  discuss  him  with  such 
prejudiced  persons." 

'  At  least  you'll  not  deny  that  he  is  a 
goody-goody.  His  grandmother  told 
me  that  much." 

"Doesn't  smoke  cigarettes,  I  sup- 
pose," suggested  Bert. 

"No,  he  doesn't!"  declared  Sally 
with  spirit,  "and  you  don't  know  what 
a  relief  it  was  to  go  anywhere  with  him 
after  being  around  with  some  of  the 
other  boys,  who  were  always  blowing 
smoke  in  your  face  and  wanting  to 
stand  on  the  rear  platform  of  street 
cars  wrhere  they  could  smoke.  It  cer- 
tainly was  nice  to  have  some  fellow 
who  thought  you  were  of  quite  as  much 
importance  as  his  old  cigarette." 

"And  now  you  know  what  Sally 
thinks  of  smoking,"  laughed  Kate. 

"Oh,   I   knew   before.     It  isn't  the 

31 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

first  time  she  has  told  me.  It's  a  good 
thing  all  the  girls  are  not  like  her." 

"Most  of  them  are,"  retorted  Sally. 
"It  would  be  a  good  thing  for  you  boys 
if  they  would  make  it  plain  to  you." 

"How  about  it,  Ruth,"  queried  Her- 
bert. 

"I  quite  agree  with  Sally." 

Herbert  took  a  package  of  cigarettes 
from  his  pocket. 

"I  can  see  this  is  no  place  for  me," 
he  sang,  as  with  a  laugh  he  picked  up 
the  hat  he  had  thrown  down  on  the 
grass  and  started  to  leave.  "Going 
down  town,  Kate?" 

'That's  where  I  started  for." 

"Well,  come  on,"  and  the  couple 
sauntered  off,  Bert  puffing  his  cigarette 
and  Kate  doing  her  best  to  dodge  the 
smoke. 

"It's  too  bad,"  declared  Ruth  medi- 
tatively as  she  and  Sally  were  left 
alone,  "that  boys  can't  strike  a  happy 
medium.  It  seems  they  either  have  to 
be  perfect  sissies  or  else  as  wild  and  bad 
as  they  can  be.  That's  their  idea  of 

32 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

being  good  fellows.  Really,  I'm  not 
sure  but  I'd  rather  have  them  like  your 
paragon  of  goodness,  Adelbert  Hen- 
derson." Then,  after  a  pause:  "Can't 
he  do  anything  only  be  good  ?" 

"Can't  he  do  anything  ?"  repeated 
Sally.  "Just  wait  till  you  see  him. 
Talk  about  goody-goody  boys!"  and 
Sally  laughed  till  the  tears  came  to  her 
eyes. 

"I'm  sure  I  don't  see  the  joke,"  said 
Ruth. 

"It's  no  joke,  Ruth.  It's  a  serious 
condition.  But  I  will  say  one  good  word 
for  him.  He  was  the  best  oarsman  on 
the  lake  and  there  wasn't  a  girl  at  the 
hotel  that  wouldn't  give  her  eyes  just 
for  a  chance  to  go  rowing  with  him." 


S3 


CHAPTER  THREE 

In  Sharon,  June  is  the  show  month 
of  the  year.  Other  months  there  are 
which  are  beautiful,  but  because  Sharon 
gardeners  make  a  specialty  of  roses  — 
and  nearly  everyone  in  Sharon  is  a 
gardener,  more  or  less  —  it  is  during 
June  that  Sharon  puts  on  its  most  be- 
coming garb. 

"I  don't  believe,"  exclaimed  Uncle 
Josiah  one  day,  "that  the  rose  of  Sharon 
that  Solomon  sung  about,  could  hold 
a  candle  to  the  roses  of  our  Sharon." 
And  there  were  plenty  of  people  in 
Sharon  who  agreed  with  him. 

Certain  it  is  that  on  this  particular 
June  day,  Sharon  never  looked  more 
beautiful.  In  fact,  from  the  little  hill- 
top on  which  Uncle  Josiah's  farm  house 
was  located,  just  at  the  edge  of  town, 
Sharon  looked  like  a  great  full-blown 
rose.  So  at  least  thought  Aunt  Clara 

34 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

as  she  sat  on  the  back  porch  and  let 
her  eyes  wander  down  over  the  village 
and  the  little  valley  beyond,  through 
which  the  river  wound  its  way. 

"What,  indeed,  is  so  rare  as  a  day 
in  June,"  she  thought  in  the  words  of 
Lowell,  for  in  spite  of  her  three  score 
and  more  years  Aunt  Clara  had  not 
lost  the  sentiment  of  her  girlhood,  and 
could  not  help  saying: 

"Joy  comes,  grief  goes,  we  know  not  how, 
"Everything  is  happy  now;  'tis  the  natural  way  of  living." 

It  was  in  this  way  that  Aunt  Clara 
was  happy.  It  seemed  natural  to  her; 
and  besides,  had  she  not  that  very 
morning  received  a  letter  from  her 
daughter  in  the  north  telling  her  that 
her  favorite  grandson  had  passed  his 
final  examinations  without  a  single 
error  and  would  be  graduated  with 
special  honors. 

"After  which,"  explained  Aunt  Clara 
to  Ruth  who  dropped  in,  "we  shall 
have  a  visit  from  him,  and  I  want  you 
to  be  sure  and  like  him." 

Ruth    tossed  her  dainty  head  as  she 

35 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

replied  with  a  twinkle  in  her  eye: 
"From  what  I  have  heard  I  won't  be 
able  to  help  myself." 

"Why  should  you  want  to?" 

"Just  the  perversity  of  human  na- 
ture, I  suppose.  One  does  enjoy  hav- 
ing some  little  individuality  and  1 
should  like  to  be  at  least  that  much 
different  from  the  rest  of  the  girls." 

Then  seeing  the  grieved  look  on  Aunt 
Clara's  face:  "But  I  want  to  like  him 
because  he  is  your  grandson,  Aunt 
Clara.  I'll  do  my  best."  Then  as  she 
turned:  "I'm  just  on  my  way  down  io 
see  Aunt  Becky." 

"They  haven't  sent  her  to  the  poor- 
house,  yet?" 

"No,  and  I  haven't  heard  anything 
more  about  it;  but  she  says  they  might 
just  as  well  as  she  has  nothing  to  live 
for  anyway.  That's  why  I  go  over  to 
see  her  so  often.  It  does  seem  hard  to 
have  no  one  to  love,"  and  Ruth,  swing- 
ing her  hat  in  her  hand,  started  down 
the  lane  that  led  around  to  the  highway 
where  Aunt  Becky  lived,  thinking  some 

36 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

pretty  hard  things  of  those  who  had 
made  her  life  so  lonely. 

"Poor  soul!"  exclaimed  Aunt  Clara, 
meaning  Aunt  Becky,  "I  do  wish  we 
could  do  more  for  her!" 

It  was  of  Aunt  Becky  that  Aunt  Clara 
was  thinking  now  as  another  couplet 
from  "The  Vision  of  Sir  Launfal,"  came 
to  her  mind: 

"The  heart  is  so  full  that  a  drop  o'erfilla  it, 
"We  are  happy  now  because  God  wills  it." 

"Why  should  God  will  us,  Ruth  and 
me,  to  be  happy  and  not  Aunt  Becky  ?" 
she  asked  herself. 

Then  Aunt  Clara  shook  her  head.  It 
was  more  than  she  could  answer,  al- 
though she  had  been  studying  her  Bible 
and  commentaries  for  half  a  century. 

Down  at  Aunt  Becky's  a  good  deal 
the  same  sort  of  conversation  was 
going  on. 

"Why  should  some  folks  be  happy 
all  the  time  and  me  never?"  queried 
Aunt  Becky  of  Ruth,  forgetful  of  the 
little  grammar  she  had  known  in  her 

37 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

younger  days,  and  falling  into  the  verna- 
cular of  the  colored  woman  whom  Uncle 
Josiah  and  some  of  the  neighbors  had 
hired  to  stay  with  her.  "I  ain't  never 
done  nothin'  to  nobody!" 

"But  you  are  happy  sometimes,  are 
you  not  ?"  asked  Ruth  evasively. 

"Only  when  you're  here!  Ain't 
that  so,  Mandy?"  appealing  to  the 
colored  woman. 

"  'Deed  it  is,  honey!"  This  to  Ruth. 
"You  is  the  on'y  one  that  ever  seems 
to  cheer  her  up  a  bit!" 

"Then  I  must  come  oftener,"  said 
Ruth.  "  Aunt  Clara  would  come  down, 
too,  only  it's  so  hard  for  her  to  climb 
the  hill/' 

"Oh.  I  know  she  would,"  said  Aunt 
Becky  "She  and  Josiah  have  al'us 
been  good  friends  of  mine.  I  used  to 
think  she  was  mighty  stuck  up  when 
she  was  a  young  woman,  but  I  see  now 
I  was  mistaken.  But  Josiah,  he  al- 
'us was  as  common  as  an  oP  shoe!" 

"And  he  has  such  a  kind  heart/' 
said  Ruth. 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"  'Deed  he  has,  Miss  Ruth/'  said 
Mandy.  Then  suddenly  sticking  her 
head  out  of  the  open  door:  "Now  where 
dat  black  pickaninny  gone  ?  Here  you, 
Gawge  Washington  Abraham  Lincoln 
Burley,"  she  called.  "Where  is  you? 
D'ye  near  ?  Whe-e-ere  is  you  ?" 

Receiving  no  reply,  Mandy  went  out 
to  see  what  had  become  of  her  four- 
year-old  son  whom  she  had  left  playing 
in  the  yard  something  like  half  an  nour 
before. 

Ruth  picked  up  her  hat  preparatory 
to  going  home. 

Can't   you   stay   a   little   longer?" 
asked  Aunt  Becky. 

"I've  been  here  more  than  an  hour 
now,"  explained  Ruth,  "and  it's  getting 
toward  dinner  time.  But  I'll  —  " 

Whatever  she  was  going  to  say  was 
interrupted  by  an  agonizing  shriek  from 
outside  the  house,  followed  by  Mandy 
crying:— 

"Oh,  Miss  Ruth,  he'll  done  git 
runned  over!  He'll  done  git  runned 
over  shuah!" 

89 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Ruth  rushed  to  the  door,  while  Aunt 
Becky  muttered  something  about  "that 
pesky  little  brat  al'us  gettin'  into  some 
kind  of  trouble." 

And  sure  enough  he  did  seem  in 
trouble  this  time! 

As  Ruth  looked  in  the  direction  in 
which  Mandy  was  pointing,  she  saw, 
high  up  on  the  railroad  trestle,  little 
black  George,  bareheaded  and  bare- 
legged, picking  his  way  on  all  fours 
toward  the  span  over  the  river.  He 
had  wandered  away  off  toward  the 
higher  ground  where  access  to  the  track 
was  level  and  was  now  crawling  back 
toward  home  on  the  ties,  which  were 
close  enough  together  to  keep  him  from 
falling  through.  Every  minute  it  look- 
ed as  though  he  might  tumble  over, 
and  if  a  train  should  come  from  the 
north  he  would  be  knocked  off  by  the 
engine  almost  before  the  engineer  could 
see  him. 

Certainly  the  situation  seemed  seri- 
ous. 

Down  on  the  ground  Mandy  kept  up 

40 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

her  cries  despite  all  Ruth  could  do  to 
quiet  her. 

"Run  around  and  get  him!"  ex- 
claimed Ruth  trying  to  start  Mandy 
toward  the  place  where  the  child  had 
found  his  way  to  the  track. 

'Deed,  Miss  Ruth,  my  laigs  won't 
walk,  ise  so  scairt!"  moaned  Mandy. 
"I  just  cain't  run." 

"Then  you  stand  here  and  watch  him 
and  I'll  go!"  exclaimed  Ruth.  "But 
stop  your  screaming.  You'll  scare  him 
so  he'll  fall  off." 

As  though  to  bear  out  the  truth  of 
Ruth's  prediction,  the  child  suddenly 
stopped,  stood  up  in  the  middle  of  the 
track  and  looked  down  at  his  mother. 

"Go  back!  Go  back!"  she  called 
waving  her  arms. 

The  child  started  to  turn  and  then, 
impressed  by  the  mother's  fear,  sat 
down  and  began  to  scream. 

"I  told  you  so!"  exclaimed  Ruth. 
"Now  keep  still!"  and  she  started 
off  to  do  what  she  could  to  rescue  the 
child. 

41 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Even  as  she  started,  however,  there 
came  the  noise  as  of  an  approaching 
engine. 

'  Dere  comes  a  train !     Dere  comes  a 
train!"  cried  Mandy.      "O  my  baby!" 

"Hush,"  commanded  Ruth.  "It's 
not  a  train.  It's  an  automobile." 

But  it  was  not  even  an  automobile, 
only  a  motorcycle  that  came  spinning 
around  the  bend  in  the  road  that  passed 
by  Aunt  Becky's  house.  The  rider 
was  an  athletic  looking  young  chap  in 
a  cardinal  and  white  sweater,  who  was 
at  once  attracted  by  the  screaming 
child  and  its  mother.  At  the  same 
time  the  whistle  of  a  train  was  heard 
in  the  distance. 

Leaping  from  his  machine,  it  was 
but  the  work  of  two  or  three  minutes 
for  the  young  chap  to  climb,  hand  over 
hand,  from  one  brace  to  another  to  the 
top  of  the  steel  pier  and  on  to  the  track 
above.  Taking  the  still  screaming  child 
in  his  arms,  ne  cautiously  made  his 
way  over  the  side  and  was  well  down 
the  pier  when  an  engine  drawing  a 

42 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

long  Irain  of  freight  cars  dashed  through 
the  cut  and  onto  the  trestle. 

Both  Mandy  and  Ruth  hastened  to 
the  foot  of  the  pier  to  meet  him  as  he 
descended.  The  former  did  not  wait 
for  him  to  touch  the  ground,  but  reach- 
ing up,  took  the  child  from  his  arms 
and  gave  it  a  sounding  box  on  the 
ear  as  she  started  for  the  house,  ex- 
claiming as  she  went: 

"Dere  now  you,  Gawge  Washington 
Abraham  Lincoln  Burley,  I  done  hope 
you  has  learned  a  lesson  you'll  nevah 
forgit.  Why,  if  dat  young  man  hadn't 
got  you,  you'd  shuan  be  an  angel  by 
dis  time  and  den  what  you  tink  you 
poor  Mammy  do!" 

In  spite  of  the  trying  ordeal  through 
which  she  had  passed,  Ruth  could  not 
help  being  affected  by  the  humor  of 
the  situation  and  instead  of  receiving 
the  stranger  with  the  dignity  which  she 
felt  the  occasion  demanded,  she  burst 
into  a  laugh  in  which  he  joined  heartily. 

"Mandy  is  just  as  grateful  as  though 
she  had  stopped  to  tell  you  so,"  Ruth 

43 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

hastened  to  say  as  soon  as  she  could 
compose  herself. 

"I'm  sure  of  it,"  the  young  man 
replied,  and  at  the  first  word  Ruth  was 
struck  with  his  deep,  rich  voice,  "and 
I'm  also  sure  that  she  is  grateful  in  the 
right  way,  even  though  she  did  ex- 
press her  thought  in  a  somewhat  novel 
manner.  But  thanks  are  unnecessary." 

"I  am  sure  it's  very  kind  of  you  to 
say  so,"  replied  Ruth.  "It  was  a 
brave  thing  to  do." 

"It  was  the  right  thing  and  therefore 
the  only  thing  to  do,"  was  the  smiling 
rejoinder.  "I  don't  believe  that  I 
stopped  to  think  there  was  anything 
else  I  could  do." 

And  then,  as  though  fearing  he  might 
appear  a  bit  conceited,  he  added: 
"There  really  was  no  danger  about  it, 
if  that  is  what  you  mean." 

"Wasn't  there?"  asked  Ruth  at  a 
loss  just  what  to  say,  for  now  that  the 
excitement  had  passed  off,  she  began 
to  remember  that  she  was  talking  to  a 
perfect  stranger  and,  unaccustomed  to 

44 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

such  a  situation,  felt  somewhat  em- 
barrassed. 

"Not  the  slightest,"  he  replied.  "I 
presume  your  brother  has  climbed  that 
pier  many  a  time." 

Ruth's  eyes  twinkled,  and  the  least 
bit  of  mischief  was  apparent. 

"Oh,  I  mean  it,"  said  the  stranger. 
"You  ask  him." 

"Unfortunately  I  have  no  brother  to 
ask,"  she  replied,  her  embarrassment 
quickly  passing. 

"Well,  then  you  can  ask  some  other 
girl's  brother.  But  I  must  be  going  or 
I  shall  miss  my  dinner.  Tell  Mandy 
that  the  best  way  to  show  her  gratitude, 
will  be  by  keeping  an  eye  on  her  baby 
after  this,"  and  mounting  his  machine 
he  quickly  disappeared  to\vard  town. 

'Now  who  on  earth  can  he  be," 
asked  Ruth  of  herself  as  he  passed  out 
of  sight.  "I  wish  I  had  dared  ask 
him  his  name.  Anyway  it's  a  real 
adventure  —  the  first  one  I  ever  had." 
Then,  as  the  novelty  of  it  dawned  upon 
her,  "and  what  a  story  to  tell  Sally!" 

45 


CHAPTER  FOUR 

Having  announced  that  he  was  going 
to  take  his  grandson,  Herbert,  into  ousi- 
ness  with  him,  Thomas  Dennison  pro- 
ceeded at  once  to  carry  out  his  inten- 
tion. 

"The  sooner  you  get  your  hand  into 
the  real  feature  of  the  business,"  he 
said  to  Herbert  the  very  morning  of  the 
event  narrated  in  the  preceding  chapter, 
"the  better." 

•'What's  that?"  asked  Herbert  in 
some  surprise,  for  he  had  been  about 
the  store  so  much  ever  since  he  was  a 
boy  ten  years  old  that  he  thought  he 
knew  all  about  it. 

"Buying  goods." 

"Buying  goods?"  repeated  Herbert, 
for  want  of  something  better  to  say. 

"Yes.  If  you  don't  buy  right,  of 
course  you  can't  sell  so  as  to  make  a 
profit."' 

46 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Don't  the  wholesalers  have  a  fixed 
price?"  asked  Herbert. 

"For  the  most  part,  yes.  But  there 
are  always  job  lots.  Then,  too,  there 
are  things  that  are  a  little  out  of  date 
in  big  cities  that  are  just  as  salable  as 
the  newer  things  here.  Get  a  few  first 
class  goods,  more  of  the  second  and 
you  can  sell  them  all  at  the  higher 
price." 

Herbert  looked  wise.  "I  see,"  he 
exclaimed.  "And  the  profit  is  on  the 
cheaper  goods." 

"Exactly,"  replied  his  grandfather. 
"And  there  is  another  thing  you  might 
as  well  understand,  and  that  is  why  I 
have  allowed  you  to  dress  well  and 
spend  so  much  money.  It  helps  trade. 
When  the  other  young  fellows  see  you 
wearing  something  new,  they  want  it 
too,  and  even  though  their  fathers  can 
not  always  afford  to  let  them  have 
these  things,  they  usually  manage  it 
some  way  —  especially,"  he  added,  rub- 
bing his  hands  together,  "as  they  all 
run  accounts  with  me." 

47 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Yes,"  said  Herbert  with  an  air  of 
added  importance,  "I  know  most  of 
them  do.  It's  a  good  way,  isn't  it  ?" 

"For  the  storekeeper,  yes,"  replied 
his  grandfather.  "That  is  if  the  cus- 
tomers are  at  all  honest,  and  most  men 
in  towns  of  this  kind  are;  but  it's  a  bad 
thing  for  the  customer!" 

Herbert  looked  surprised. 

"You  don't  see  it,  eh?" 

"No,  sir." 

"Most  men  who  run  accounts,"  ex- 
plained Mr.  Dennison,  "buy  more  than 
they  otherwise  would,  more  than  they 
need  and  more  than  they  can  afford. 
There  isn't  a  man  in  this  town  whose 
ability  to  pay  I  do  not  know.  If  they 
don't  pay  once  in  so  often  I  take  their 
notes  at  a  good  interest,  so  you  see  I 
make  a  double  profit.  Later,  if  they 
do  not  pay  the  notes,  I  take  a  mortgage 
on  their  place.  That  is  how  I  come  to 
own  so  much  of  the  valuable  land  in 
and  about  Sharon. 

"Now  you  see  how  it  all  works  out 

48 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

and  I  expect  you  to  follow  in  my  foot- 
steps/' 

Not  realizing  the  dishonest  thought 
back  of  some  of  the  methods  suggested, 
Herbert  replied  with  more  modesty 
than  he  had  yet  displayed  that  he 
would  do  the  best  he  could. 

"That  is  all  any  one  can  do,"  said 
his  grandfather.  "And  so  to  give  you 
your  first  trial  in  buying  I  have  deter- 
mined to  start  you  for  the  city  tomorrow. 
Midsummer  is  approaching  and  we 
need  some  novelties  in  various  lines, 
such  as  gents'  furnishing  goods,  sum- 
mer dress  goods  and  the  like.  To- 
morrow being  Wednesday,  you  will  be 
able  to  finish  your  business  and  get 
back  home  by  Saturday  night.  There's 
no  use  in  paying  hotel  bills  over  Sun- 
day. 

"And  by  the  way,  speaking  of  ho- 
tels," continued  Mr.  Dennison,  "there's 
no  sense  in  putting  up  at  the  highest 
priced  hotel  in  the  city.  If  you  were 
selling  goods  there  might  be;  but  in 
buying  it  doesn't  matter.  Salesmen  will 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

hunt  you  out  wherever  you  are  as  soon  as 
they  learn  you  are  representing  Thomas 
Dennison  &  Co." 

After  his  talk  with  his  grandfather, 
Herbert  sauntered  out  to  the  front  of 
the  store  and  looked  up  and  down  the 
street.  About  the  first  person  he  saw 
was  Win  King.  As  he  approached, 
Herbert  stepped  out  of  the  door  to 
speak  to  him. 

"How's  everything  ?"  queried  Win  as 
he  took  the  cigarette  Herbert  offered 
him. 

"Oh,  all  right,"  replied  Bert  in  an 
off-hand  manner.  "Pretty  busy  since 
the  old  man  decided  to  take  me  into 
the  firm.  I've  got  to  run  up  to  Balti- 
more tomorrow  to  buy  a  few  new  goods. 
Can't  go  along,  can  you  ?"  and  Bert 
lighted  his  cigarette  and  stood  admir- 
ing himself  in  the  big  show  window. 

"No!  Wish  I  could,"  replied  Win. 
"I  never  do  get  a  chance  to  go  any 
where.  Dad's  been  promising  to  send 
me  to  Norfolk  with  the  next  carload  of 
cattle,  but  something  always  happens 

50 


A  UOYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

that  makes  it  necessary  for  him  to  go. 
The  old  folks  never  seem  to  think  the 
young  ones  can  do  anything." 
v'"No,"  replied  Bert  nonchalantly, 
flicking  the  ash  off  his  cigarette,  "most 
of  them  don't;  but  grandfather  has 
more  advanced  ideas  than  some." 

Then  as  his  gaze  turned  up  the 
street:  "Hello,  here  comes  Kate  Black- 
burn! Hello,  Kate!"  as  the  girl  ap- 
proached. "Which  way  this  morn- 
ing?" 

"  Only  down  to  the  market.  I'm  the 
errand  girl  for  our  family,"  she  replied 
in  a  manner  indicative  of  the  distaste 
she  felt  for  the  task. 

"I  can  sympathize  with  you,"  ex- 
claimed Win  with  a  shrug  of  his 
shoulders.  "I  have  the  same  job  in 
ours." 

'Yes,  but  you're  a  boy  and  can  do 
things  that  you  want  to  once  in  a  while; 
I  never  can." 

Then  to  Bert:  "Why  don't  you  ever 
come  up  to  the  house  any  more.  You 
haven't  been  up  in  a  month." 

51 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Oh,  no;  not  as  long  as  that." 

"Sure  it  is!  Come  up  tomorrow 
night,  won't  you  ?" 

"Can't,"  replied  Bert  with  an  air 
of  importance  most  tantalizing  to  Win. 
"I  have  to  go  up  to  Baltimore  to  buy 
goods  tomorrow  morning!" 

"Honest?"  exclaimed  Kate,  as  she 
looked  up  and  took  a  hasty  mental 
survey  of  the  young  man. 

"Yes,  honest.  You  know  I'm  a 
member  of  the  firm  now." 

"I'd  forgotten;  but,  gee,  I  wish  I 
was  a  boy.  I'd  like  to  go  to  Baltimore 
to  buy  goods,  or  anywhere  else  to  get 
out  of  this  town.  It  s  awful  dead  here, 
don't  you  think  ?" 

"Well,  yes,  it  is  pretty  quiet.  I 
expect  I'll  go  to  New  York  a  little  later 
when  we  get  ready  to  lay  in  our  winter 
stock." 

'You  sure  are  in  luck!"  exclaimed 
Win  as  Kate  passed  on.  "But  I  must 
be  moving.  I  have  to  go  to  the  tailor's 
after  I've  ordered  the  things  for  dinner." 

"Having  a  new  suit?" 

52 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"No,  only  an  old  one  cleaned  and 
pressed.  Father  said  he  couldn't  spare 
me  the  money  now  to  buy  me  a  new 
one." 

"Nonsense!"  exclaimed  Bert.  "If 
you  want  a  new  suit  or  anything  else, 
you  come  right  in  and  get  it  any 
time.  Your  credit  is  good  with  Thomas 
Dennison  &  Co.  You  can  get  it  now 
if  you  want  to." 

"Oh,  I  wouldn't  dare.  Father  would 
be  awful  mad.  And  besides  I've  got  to 
go  to  the  market." 

"Well,  come  in  anyhow  on  your  way 
back  and  I'll  show  you  some  new  goods 
that  came  in  the  other  day;  and  say!" 
he  exclaimed  as  Win  moved  away,  "if 
you  don't  see  anything  you  like  I'll 
order  you  something  when  I'm  in 
Baltimore." 

"Bert  Jones  is  certainly  a  good  fel- 
low," was  Win's  mental  comment  as 
he  passed  on,  "and  he  sure  meant  what 
he  said.  I  think  I'll  just  take  him  at 
his  word." 

"He'll  be  back  all  right,"  said  Bert 

53 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

to  himself  as  he  went  into  the  store  and 
commenced  sorting  over  the  stock  to 
see  what  he  had  on  hand  that  might 
suit.  "It's  just  as  grandfather  says: 
Give  'em  a  chance  to  have  it  charged 
and  they'll  buy  any  old  thing!" 

The  result  was  as  Herbert  had  pre- 
dicted. Before  Win  went  home  he  had 
bought  the  goods  for  a  new  suit  and 
had  them  charged,  exacting  from  Her- 
bert the  promise  that  he  would  say 
nothing  about  it  till  he  had  a  good 
chance  to  break  the  news  to  his  father. 
Then  he  started  for  home  with  a 
troubled  conscience,  but  still  with  the 
belief  that  Herbert  was  his  friend. 

Herbert's  words  and  manner  had 
also  increased  the  feeling  of  dissatisfac- 
tion in  the  mind  of  Kate  Blackburn. 
It  appeared  to  her  that  every  one  except 
herself  was  having  a  good  time.  Her- 
bert's business  trip  seemed  a  simple 
holiday  and  she  walked  slowly  home 
with  the  firm  belief  that  she  was  the 
most  abused  person  in  Sharon. 

Just  as  she  entered  her  father's  gate 

£4 


a  young  man  on  a  motorcycle  went 
spinning  by.  He  seemed  enjoying  him- 
self to  the  fullest.  So  noticeable  was 
this  and  so  in  contrast  with  her  own 
dissatisfied  thought,  that  Kate  turned 
and  looked  after  him  as  he  sped  down 
the  street. 

"I  wonder  who  he  is?"  she  solilo- 
quized. "He  sure  looks  all  right!" 

Then  as  she  turned  into  the  house: 
"Everybody  has  a  good  time  but  me. 
My,  but  don't  I  wish  I  could  get  away 
from  this  old  town!" 


55 


CHAPTER  FIVE 

"Guess  who's  here?"  asked  Sally 
rushing  into  Ruth's  home  about  four 
o'clock  that  afternoon,  her  face  all 
aglow  with  color  and  her  voice  and 
manner  full  of  excitement. 

"Guess  who's  where?"  asked  Ruth. 

"In  Sharon,  to  be  sure." 

"I  can't  imagine,  unless  it's  the 
President." 

"  Nonsense !"  exclaimed  Sally.  "  It's 
someone  we  have  been  talking  about. 
Of  course  you  wouldn't  guess  if  you 
could  so  I  might  as  well  tell  you.  It's 
Del  Henderson." 

"Oh,  Adelbert!"  exclaimed  Ruth 
mockingly.  "So  the  paragon  has  ar- 
rived, has  he?  But  how  did  he  ever 
happen  to  come  so  soon?  The  last  I 
heard  of  him  was  this  morning  when 
Aunt  Clara  told  me  he  had  passed  a 

56 


'wonderful  examination'  and  was  com- 
ing down  after  he  graduated." 

"It  appears  he's  going  to  Europe  as 
soon  as  he  graduates,  so  he  determined 
to  spend  his  senior  vacation  with  his 
grandparents.  He  has  about  three 
weeks,  you  know." 

"No,  I  don't  know  and  I  don't  know 
as  I  care.  But  how  on  earth  do  you 
get  all  your  information  ?" 

"From  Bert.  Win  brought  Del  into 
the  store  this  afternoon.  I  told  Bert  to 
ask  both  of  them  out  to  the  house  to- 
night and  he  said  he  would.  I  want 
you  to  come  over  and  meet  him." 

"Well,  I  don't  mind,  if  Win  is  going 
to  be  there.  But  who  else  have  you 
asked  ?  There  ought  to  be  some  real 
goody-goody  girl  to  entertain  Adelbert". 

"Oh,  you're  good  enough,"  laughed 
Sally.  "Besides  we  ought  to  have  con- 
trasts and  so,  at  Bert's  request,1 1  have 
asked  Kate  Blackburn.  Really  I  don't 
know  what  Bert  can  see  in  her,  but 
they  get  along  well  together." 

57 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Ruth  smiled.  "Birds  of  a  feather," 
she  quoted. 

"Now,  Ruth!  That  is  hardly  kind 
—  to  me,"  she  added. 

"You  mean  that  Kate  is  worse  than 
Bert,  then." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  as  I  ought  to 
say  that.  I  know  Bert  is  wild  and 
selfish,  but  he's  my  brother,  while 
Kate  —  " 

"I  know  how  you  feel!"  exclaimed 
Ruth  impulsively.  "I'm  sorry  I  said 
anything  about  either  one  of  them.  I 
must  try  and  break  myself  of  criticis- 
ing other  persons.  Aunt  Clara  says  it 
isn't  charitable,  dear  old  soul!  I  don't 
know  how  anybody  can  be  so  good." 

"Perhaps  that's  where  Adelbert,  as 
you  insist  on  calling  him,  gets  his.  He 
may  inherit  it." 

"Maybe:  but  Sally!"  suddenly  ex- 
claimed Ruth,  "I  almost  forgot  to  tell 
you  of  my  wonderful  adventure." 

"Adventure?" 

"Yes!  A  really  and  truly  one  with 
the  nicest  young  fellow  you  ever  met; 

58 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

or  I  should  say  that  I  ever  met,  for  you 
didn't  see  him  at  all  —  and  so  hand- 
some! Say!  He  had  the  laughingest 
blue  eyes  and  the  most  musical  voice 
and  his  face  was  just  like  the  pictures 
of  the  old  Greeks,  only  he  was  fair  and 
had  brown  hair!" 

"Now  there's  another  picture  for 
you!"  laughed  Sally. 

"Isn't  it?" 

"And  where  was  the  meeting  and 
how  did  it  all  happen  ?" 

"Well,  you  see  I  was  down  at  Aunt 
Becky's  this  morning  sympathizing  with 
her  because  she  has  to  go  to  the  poor- 
house  —  " 

"Aunt  Becky  going  to  the  poor- 
house!"  interrupted  Sally.  "Aunt 
Becky  going  to  the  poor-house!  Why?" 

Ruth's  face  flushed  and  she  stam- 
mered something  about  being  just  in 
fun. 

"It's  nothing  of  the  kind,  Ruth 
Jackson,"  exclaimed  Sally.  "You  are 
trying  to  hide  something  from  me!" 

"Well,   I   don't  know   much   about 

59 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

it,"  said  Ruth  slowly,  "only  they  say 
someone  holds  a  mortgage  on  her  place 
and  he  is  going  to  put  her  out  because 
she  can't  pay  any  mor^  on  it." 

"Impossible!"  exclaimed  Sally.  "No 
one  could  be  so  mean.  I'll  tell  grand- 
father about  it  and  if  it's  true,  I  know 
he  will  help  her.  Do  you  know  who 
it  is  ?" 

"Not  for  sure;  but  you  tell  your 
grandfather  all  about  it.  That  will  be 
the  very  best  thing  I  know. 

"And  now  let's  see,"  continued  Ruth 
hastily,  "where  was  I?" 

"Down  at  Aunt  Becky's." 

"Oh,  yes.  And  while  I  was  talking 
to  her  I  heard  Mandy  scream.  I 
rushed  out  of  the  house  to  see  what 
was  the  matter  and  there  was  little 
George  up  on  the  railroad  bridge  —  " 

"On  the  railroad  bridge!"  interrupt- 
ed Sally.  "How  on  earth  did  he  ever 
get  there?" 

"Climbed  the  hill  out  back  of  Aunt 
Becky's  and  toddled  round  onto  the 
track." 

60 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

x  "Well  did  you  ever!" 

"That's  what  I  thought,  too.  But 
however  it  happened,  there  he  was  and 
Mandy  screaming  at  the  top  of  her 
voice.  Directly  George  heard  her  he 
began,  too,  and  I  didn't  know  what  to 
do.  Mandy  was  so  scared  she  couldn't 
move  and  just  then  we  heard  an  engine 
whistle  in  the  distance." 

"Well,  what  did  you  do?"  exclaimed 
Sally  now  thoroughly  interested. 

"This  is  where  the  hero  enters," 
laughed  Ruth,  "just  as  it  happens  in 
real  melodrama.  Around  the  curve  in 
the  road  comes  a  flying  motorcycle. 
Off  jumps  this  wonderful  person  I've 
been  telling  you  about.  Up  the  great 
pier  he  clambers  and  just  as  the  engine 
dashes  along,  down  he  comes  with  the 
little  black  pickaninny  as  mild  as  you 
please." 

"How  thrilling!"  exclaimed  Sally  in 
amazement.  "Then  what  happened  ?" 

"That's  just  what  I  have  been  trying 
to  settle  in  my  own  mind  ever  since.  I 
don't  know  whether  I  thanked  him  or 

61 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

what  I  did.  I  did  try  to  tell  him  it  was 
a  brave  act,  but  he  just  laughed  and 
said  it  was  the  only  thing  there  was  to 
do.  Then  he  said  he  was  hungry,  or 
something  like,  and  off  he  rode  with- 
out ever  telling  me  who  he  was  or  even 
taking  the  trouble  to  as  much  as  ask 
my  name.  Now  what  do  you  think  of 
that?" 

"I'm  too  amazed  to  have  any  thoughts 
at  all  about  it.  Who  do  you  suppose 
it  could  have  been  ?  I'm  simply  purple 
with  curiosity." 

"I  haven't  the  slightest  idea.  But  I 
suppose  it  must  be  some  tourist  on  his 
way  south  from  Washington.  You 
know  they  make  the  run  down  here  in 
a  day.  But  if  I  never  see  him  again, 
I'll  never  forget  that  voice." 

"Speaking  of  voices,"  exclaimed 
Sally,  "I  just  want  you  to  hear  Del — " 

"Don't!"  interrupted  Ruth  putting 
her  hands  to  her  ears  in  mock  distress. 
"Don't  dare  to  compare  my  hero  with 
that  namby-pamby  —  " 

62 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

But  Sally's  laugh  drowned  the  rest 
of  the  sentence. 

"Ruth!  Ruth!"  she  exclaimed.  "I 
certainly  do  feel  sorry  for  what  you 
will  have  to  endure  this  evening!" 

Then,  as  she  was  going:  "But  never- 
theless don't  you  fail  to  come  and  to 
come  early." 

"Oh,  I'll  be  there,"  was  Ruth's  reply, 
and  she  was.  Likewise  she  came  early 
and  she  and  Sally  had  just  seated 
themselves  on  the  porch  in  the  gloam- 
ing when  footsteps  were  heard  coming 
up  the  walk. 

"Bert  has  gone  over  after  Kate," 
explained  Sally,  "so  that  must  be  Win 
and  his  cousin  now." 

"I'm  glad  it's  not  very  light  so  he 
won't  notice  if  I  stare  at  him,"  said 
Ruth,  and  just  then  she  caught  the 
sound  of  a  voice  saying:  "What  a 
beautiful  old  place.  I  wish  it  were 
lighter  so  I  could  see  it  better." 

"Sally!"  exclaimed  Ruth  as  she  sud- 
denly sat  up  and  placed  her  hand  on 

-63 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

her  friend's  arm.  "That  voice!  Who 
is  it?" 

"Why  it's  Del  Henderson,"  and  then 
before  she  had  time  to  say  more  the 
callers  were  at  the  porch.  All  that 
Ruth  realized  was  that  Sally  was  say- 
ing, "Ruth,  this  is  our  friend,  Mr.  Hen- 
derson, of  whom  you  have  heard  us 
speak  so  often,"  and  then  as  she  gazed 
at  the  newcomer  in  the  most  unbounded 
surprise,  unable  for  her  life  to  answer, 
she  realized  that  both  Sally  and  Win 
were  laughing  merrily.  If  the  porch 
would  only  fall,  or  the  earth  open  and 
swallow  her  up !  B  ut  neither  happened . 
Instead,  as  she  began  to  realize  how 
she  had  been  fooled,  Del  was  saying: 

"I  think  Miss  Jackson  and  I  have 
met  once  before  today.  I  shall  there- 
fore claim  the  right  of  shaking  hands 
as  an  old  acquaintance." 

Now  it  was  the  others  who  were 
surprised,  and  they  showed  it  by  the 
suddenness  with  which  their  laughter 
ceased.  As  the  utter  ludicrousness  of 
the  whole  situation  flashed  across  Ruth's 

64 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

mind,  her  sense  of  humor  overcame 
her  embarrassment  and  she,  too,  burst 
into  a  merry  laugh. 

"What  a  tangle!"  she  at  length  ex- 
claimed. Then  seeing  the  puzzled  look 
on  Del's  face  she  explained.  "Please, 
Mr.  Henderson,  pardon  our  merriment, 
but  how  was  I  possibly  to  know  from 
Sally's  and  Aunt  Clara's  description, 
that  you  rode  a  motorcycle  and  went 
about  like  a  knight  errant,  aiding  dam- 
sels in  distress  and  rescuing  black 
babies  from  lofty  trestles!" 

"If  you  got  my  picture  from  grand- 
mother, I  am  not  surprised  you  did 
not  recognize  me,"  replied  Del. 

"Oh,  she  was  no  more  biased  in  her 
description  than  Sally,"  declared  Ruth, 
determined  to  get  even.  "Sally  said 
you  were  —  " 

"Ruth  Jackson,"  exclaimed  Sally, 
suddenly  putting  her  hand  over  Ruth's 
mouth,  "if  you  say  another  word  of 
what  I  told  you  I  declare  I'll  tell  Mr. 
Henderson  all  the  things  you  told  me 
about  that  rescue!" 

65 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Win,  won't  you  interfere  to  protect 
me!"  exclaimed  Del.  "I  don't  think 
it  would  be  at  all  fair  to  have  my 
weaknesses  made  a  matter  of  debate 
by  two  such  —  " 

"Antagonists,"  suggested  Win,  see- 
ing that  his  cousin  paused  for  a  word. 

"That  isn't  at  all  what  I  was  going 
to  say,"  declared  Del. 

"I  should  hope  not,"  exclaimed  Sally. 

"Critics,  might  be  better,"  laughed 
Win. 

"Oh,  no!"  exclaimed  Del.  "I  am 
sure  there  are  no  critics  here.  I  was 
about  to  say  —  " 

But  his  sentence  was  interrupted  by 
the  arrival  of  Bert  and  Kate.  In  the  in- 
troductions which  followed  the  subject 
was  dropped  and  at  the  suggestion  of 
Sally  the  little  party  went  into  the 
music  room,  which  was  Sally's  favorite 
retreat, 


66 


CHAPTER  SIX 

Sharon,  like  most  small  villages,  is  a 
church-going  community  and  there  is 
hardly  a  family  in  town  that  is  not 
connected  with  some  one  of  the  half 
dozen  religious  denominations  there 
represented.  What  society  there  is 
centers  about  the  churches,  and  the 
church  suppers,  strawberry  festivals, 
fairs  and  donations  form  the  greater 
part  of  the  social  life  of  the  place. 

As  a  result,  church  topics  and  relig- 
ious subjects  furnish  the  thought  for  a 
great  part  of  the  conversation,  not  only 
with  the  grown-ups,  but  with  the 
younger  element  as  well,  and  biblical 
references  and  quotations  are  as  com- 
mon to  the  young  folks  of  Sharon  as 
are  the  hits  and  quips  from  the  latest 
theatrical  productions  to  the  more  up- 
to-date  dwellers  of  the  metropolis.  It 
was  the  most  natural  thing  in  the 

67 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

world,  therefore,  that  Sharon's  young 
people  should  form  their  estimate  of 
their  elders  from  their  prominence  in 
church  work,  and  there  was  not  one  of 
them  who  did  not  have  a  pretty  clear 
idea  of  what  living  a  Christian  life 
meant  from  their  viewpoint. 

The  diversion  of  having  a  stranger 
in  town  was  always  enjoyed  and  as  a 
result  it  was  a  merry  little  party  that 
gathered  in  Sally's  music  room  a  few 
minutes  after  the  arrival  of  Kate  and 
Bert. 

There  was  one  in  the  room,  however, 
who  was  far  from  happy.  This  was 
Win.  He  had  told  his  mother  about 
the  new  suit  and  she,  too,  was  sure  his 
father  would  be  very  angry.  She  had 
promised,  however,  that  she  would 
mention  the  subject  to  him,  and  it  was 
of  this  that  Win  was  now  thinking. 

Of  course,  when  he  bought  the  suit, 
Bert  had  said  to  him  he  could  have  all 
the  time  he  wanted  to  pay  for  it,  but 
even  this  did  not  now  seem  to  carry 
much  weight. 

68 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I'm  sure  Dad'll  be  awful  mad,"  was 
the  way  Win  had  put  it.  "He  thinks 
boys  ought  to  stay  boys  at  least  till 
they're  twenty-one." 

He's  an  old  fogy,"  replied  Bert. 
"Why  just  look  at  me.  I'm  only 
turned  twenty  and  still  grandfather  has 
taken  me  into  partnership.  You're  a 
man  now  and  ought  to  have  all  a  man's 
privileges." 

"That's  what  I  think,"  said  Win,  "but 
I'm  sure  he'll  be  mad  all  the  same." 

"Well,  of  course,  if  he  makes  a  row 
come  to  me  and  I'll  fix  it  all  right," 
said  Bert. 

With  this  declaration  Win  at  first 
felt  quite  contented,  but  later  his  heart 
misgave  him  and  on  the  way  over  to 
Sally's  he  had  said  to  Del: 

"It  must  be  awfully  jolly  to  be  away 
from  home  at  school." 

"Well,  yes,  there  are  many  things 
pleasant  aoout  it,"  replied  Del.  "But 
1  find  I  have  a  better  time  at  home. 
Some  one  to  kind  of  look  after  me, 
don't  you  know." 

69  L 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Some  fathers  and  mothers  look 
after  you  too  much,"  declared  Win. 

"Maybe  that  is  because  they  haven't 
learned  to  have  confidence  in  you. 
You'll  find,  however,  that  just  as  soon 
as  they  see  you  showing  good  judg- 
ment about  the  things  you  undertake 
and  never  doing  anything  they  will  not 
like,  they'll  begin  to  look  up  to  you." 

"Not  my  folks,"  said  Win  emphati- 
cally. "I'd  like  to  get  away  from 
home." 

"Yes,  your  folks,  just  the  same  as 
every  young  man's  folks,"  insisted  Del, 
"and  you  don't  need  to  go  away  from 
home.  Just  look  around  among  the 
families  you  know  and  see  how  glad 
the  fathers  are  to  turn  the  hard  work 
over  to  the  sons." 

"The  hard  work,  yes;  but  they  al- 
ways want  to  boss  the  job,"  declared 
Win. 

Del  laughed  heartily. 

"It  does  seem  so,  doesn't  it?  But 
I've  noticed  that  when  they  find  us 
young  fellows  able  to  do  the  work, 

70 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

they  are  soon  glad   to  turn   over  the 
responsibility  also.'* 

"My  folks  are  not  that  way.  They 
treat  me  like  a  baby,"  and  it  was  this 
thought  and  the  thought  of  wrongdoing 
that  was  making  Win's  evening  any- 
thing but  pleasant,  although  he  did  his 
best  not  to  show  it. 

"I  don't  believe  Del  would  have  done 
such  a  thing,"  he  mused  while  Sally 
was  playing.  "But  he  doesn't  have  to. 
His  folks  let  him  do  as  he  has  a  mind." 
Then,  after  a  moment,  "What  a  good- 
looking  fellow  he  is.  He  doesn't  act 
like  he  ever  had  any  trouble  in  his 
life,"  and  Win  wasn't  the  only  one  of 
the  group  that  was  thinking  the  same 
about  the  visitor. 

Never  once,  however,  did  Win  look 
for  the  real  cause  of  his  unhappiness. 
Never  once  did  he  realize  that  he  was 
greatly  in  the  wrong  and  was  doing 
things  every  day  that  caused  his  parents 
the  greatest  anxiety. 

Just  then  Sally's  music  ceased. 
71 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

f 

"Won't  you  play  something?"  asked 
Ruth  turning  to  Del. 

"You  should  ask  him  to  sing,  in- 
stead," laughed  Sally.  "You  know 
what  a  wonderful  voice  he  has,"  and 
she  cast  a  sly  glance  at  Ruth  who 
colored  to  the  tips  of  her  ears. 

"Yes,  sing  something,"  urged  Kate. 

"All  right.  This  ought  to  fit  the 
occasion,"  laughed  Del  as  he  seated 
himself  at  the  piano  and  sang  a  sweet 
little  thing  with  a  refrain  that  went: 


1.1.    IJ  J 


>.      .«  gW- 


*  f  f 


^^ 


^ 


lun>     to       lov. 


to 

E 

»ff 

^l 

F 

* 

BE 

i" 

111-,  —If    ,g    ,j.    ,^,    H   ,J 

r  r  »  '  i  T^ 

A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


p 

6h 

• 

t»p    tun  your  faMrt.MA  jour  br*(o 

•                whirl.  

J.-.        - 

^^ 

J 

ft 

^ 

F 

NMi 

^ 

'  f  r 

& 

SU  fa    » 

,g»  j  jj 

»   priJs.fold    DiiJ»       Mj 

Sooth. 

I 

f 

•0 

w>  j  |>j- 

fm*m» 

Jj 

i  e 

^* 

* 

w 

.    -     f 

"Great!"  exclaimed  Win  as  the  song 
was  finished.  "Where'd  you  get  it.  I 
never  heard  it  before." 

"Wrote  the  words  myself,"  laughed 
Del,  "and  a  chap  named  Hall,  an  Eng- 
lishman, set  it  to  music  for  me.  Glad 
you  like  it." 

"It's  beautiful!"  exclaimed  Kate. 

"I  don't  think  much  of  it,"  declared 
Bert.  "Too  sent*  ^ntal  for  me.  I 
like  something  rolikking.  Can't  you 
give  us  something  from  one  of  the  new 
musical  shows." 

"Sure!"  replied  Del  good-naturedly. 
"I  think  I  like  them,  too,"  and  he 

73 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

sang  several  selections,  closing  with 
Robyn's  "Love  Me  and  the  World  is 
Mine." 

That  Kate  was  completely  carried 
away  by  the  music  was  very  evident  to 
Bert  and  when  Del  stopped,  he  ex- 
claimed : 

"You  sing  right  well,  but  it  always 
seems  to  me  a  fellow  could  find  some- 
thing better  to  do  than  play  the  piano. 
Men  seem  made  for  business!" 

"Bert!"  exclaimed  Sally  under  her 
breath;  but  if  Del  heard  her  he  paid 
no  attention  to  it,  and  replied  good- 
humoredly : 

"There's  a  good  deal  in  that.  I 
think  myself,  that  a  man  might  give 
too  much  time  to  the  piano  —  unless 
he  were  going  to  make  it  his  profession. 
But  we  must  all  have  our  fun,  and 
music  is  one  of  my  sports." 

"Little  tame,  ain't  it!"  sneered  Bert. 
"Give  me  a  horse  race." 

"I  like  a  horse  race  too,"  declared 
Del.  "But  we  don't  get  a  chance  to 
see  many  in  New  York." 

74 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


"Give  me  a  good  game  of  ball,"  said 
Win. 

"Or  a  rattling  good  game  of  foot- 
ball," declared  Del.  "I  like  football 
because  it  gives  a  fellow  such  a  good 
chance  to  show  his  real  self." 

" How  so ?"  asked  Ruth.  "Football 
always  looked  to  me  like  a  rough  and 
tumble  fight;  but  then,"  she  added 
half  apologetically,  "I  never  saw  one  of 
the  big  games.  Of  course  you  have." 

"O  yes,"  exclaimed  Win  anxious  to 
make  Del  seem  as  important  as  possible. 
"He  was  on  the  University  eleven  two 
years." 

"Answering  your  question,"  said  Del 
to  Ruth,  "the  fact  that  it  looks  to  you 
like  a  big  rough  and  tumble  fight, 
brings  out  the  idea  I  have  in  mind. 
If  each  fellow  doesn't  control  his  tem- 
per it  is  likely  to  become  just  what  it 
appears  to  you.  That's  where  a  chap  is 
able  to  show  his  real  self  —  in  keeping 
cool  in  the  midst  of  the  excitement." 

"It  would  be  a  mighty  poor  excuse 
for  a  man  that  wouldn't  punch  back," 

75 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

exclaimed  Bert,  "if  some  big  duffer  hit 
him  one." 

"It  would  be  a  mighty  poor  football 
player  who  did,"  replied  Del.  Then 
with  a  laugh,  "although  I  don't  think 
this  would  be  a  case  where  you  would  ex- 
pect a  fellow  to  'turn  the  other  cheek 
also/  ' 

"Of  course  not,"  laughed  Sally,  who 
saw  the  point  at  once.  "That  isn't 
what  the  words  mean." 

"What  do  you  think  they  mean?" 
asked  Ruth. 

"Why  I  think  they  mean  that  if  some 
one  in  anger  were  to  strike  you,  instead 
of  returning  the  blow,  you  should  try 
to  avoid  trouble.  In  a  football  game, 
no  one  would  strike  you  in  that  way, 
of  course;  but  it  might  make  you  angry 
just  the  same." 

"Well,  I  don't  know  a  lot  about  foot- 
ball," said  Bert,  "but  if  any  one  hits 
me,  I'll  fight." 

"That's  the  way  I  think,"  declared 
Kate.  "I  wouldn't  give  a  snap  for  a 

76 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

boy  who  wouldn't  fight  when  it  was 
necessary." 

"There  might  be  a  difference  of 
opinion  as  to  whether  it  were  neces- 
sary," laughed  Del.  "But  outside  of 
a  football  game,  or  a  cane  rush,  where 
fellows  get  excited  and  don't  know 
what  they  are  doing,  I  can't  see  any 
reason  why  a  blow  should  ever  be 
struck  —  any  more  than  I  can  see  why 
anyone  should  ever  do  a  mean  act." 

"Most  folks  seem  to  think  the  other 
way,"  said  Kate.  "It  seems  to  me 
that  pretty  nearly  everyone  I  know 
would  rather  treat  you  mean  than  to 
treat  you  well." 

"Why,  Kate!"  exclaimed  Sally  and 
Ruth  in  one  breath. 

"Well,  it's  so." 

"Why,  Kate  Blackburn!"  said  Sally. 
"That's  the  most  un-Christian  thing  I 
ever  heard.  You  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  yourself!" 

"Kate  doesn't  profess  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian," laughed  Bert. 

"You  know  what  I  say  is  true,  Sally 

77 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


Jones,"  exclaimed  Kate,  considerably 
nettled  by  Sally's  words.  "Just  look 
how  your  grandfather  —  " 

"What  do  you  mean  by  being  a 
Christian,  Bert  ?"  suddenly  asked  Ruth, 
more  for  the  sake  of  something  to  say 
that  would  interrupt  Kate  than  with 
any  expectation  of  getting  an  answer. 

"Oh,  anybody  who  belongs  to  the 
church  —  and  goes  to  prayer  meetir  g 
regularly,"  laughed  Bert,  also  anxious 
to  keep  Kate  from  saying  anything  that 
would  hurt  Sally's  feelings,  for  Sally 
was  Bert's  one  unselfish  thought  and 
to  Sally,  her  grandfather  was  the  per- 
sonification of  goodness. 

All  during  this  unexpected  conversa- 
tion Del  had  been  looking  from  one  to 
another  of  the  young  people  with  con- 
siderable surprise  pictured  on  his  face, 
which  led  Win  at  this  point  to  say: 

"Is  that  your  idea  of  a  Christian, 
Del?" 

"Not  exactly,"  was  the  somewhat 
forcible  reply. 

The  tone  of  the  voice,  rather  than 

78 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

the  words  themselves,  brought  the  other 
conversation  to  an  abrupt  stop  and,  not 
knowing  just  how  Bert  might  take  it, 
Sally  asked: 

"Then  what  is  your  idea  of  a  Chris- 
tian?" 

"To  my  sense,"  replied  Del,  "to  be 
a  Christian  means  always  to  do  right." 

"And  I  suppose  you  always  do  right," 
sneered  Bert,  who  seemed  determined 
to  say  disagreeable  things. 

"I'm  afraid  not,"  replied  Del  soberly; 
"but  I  always  try  to." 

"I  can't  see,"  said  Ruth,  "how  it  is 
possible  for  anyone  always  to  do  right." 

"It  is  pretty  hard,"  was  Del's  reply. 
"But  there  is  a  way." 

"How?" 

"Always  think  right.  Then  we 
would  know  that  in  reality  there  is  but 
one  way  to  do  anything  and  that  is  the 
right  way." 

"I  heard  you  say  that  same  thing 
once  before  today,"  said  Ruth,  "and  I 
don't  think  I  quite  understand  it." 

"Well,"  replied  Del,  "I  read  a  story 

79 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

a  few  weeks  ago  that  partly  illustrates 
it.  The  story  was  about  two  boys  who 
were  sent  on  an  errand  to  a  railroad 
construction  camp.  There  was  only 
one  road  to  the  camp,  but  after  the 
boys  had  gone  a  short  distance  they 
came  to  a  place  where  there  seemed 
to  be  two  roads,  and  for  some  minutes 
they  were  unable  to  decide  upon  what 
course  to  pursue. 

"Said  one  of  them,  'It  appears  there 
are  two  ways  —  a  right  way  and  a 
wrong  way  and  it's  up  to  us  to  decide 
which  to  take.'  But  the  other  boy 
replied,  'No!  Father  told  me  there 
was  but  one  road.  It  is  for  us  to 
determine  which  is  the  road  and  follow 
it,  because  the  other  isn't  a  road  at  all; 
it  only  seems  to  be.' 

"In  a  few  minutes,  by  changing  their 
point  of  view,  they  saw  that  what  the 
boy's  father  had  said  was  true.  There 
was  only  one  road.  The  other,  which 
seemed  to  be  a  highway,  was  only  a 
little  branch  leading  into  a  gravel  pit. 
As  soon  as  they  discovered  which  was 

80 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

the  road,  there  was  but  one  thing  to 
do  —  follow  it;  and  that  is  what  they 
did." 

"To  me,"  explained  Del,  "there  is 
only  one  way  to  do  anything  and  that 
is  the  right  way.  The  other  is  only  a 
seeming  way.  The  Christian  has  a 
guide  book  —  the  Bible  —  which  shows 
him  the  real  way  and  it's  up  to  him  to 
follow  it. 

"And  how  is  that  for  a  sermon?" 
he  laughed.  "But  you'll  all  admit  that 
I  didn't  start  it.  You  asked  me  and  I 
had  to  tell  you." 

"Of  course  you  did,"  replied  Sally, 
"and  I  think  you  told  it  well." 


81 


CHAPTER  SEVEN 

Herbert  was  astir  early  the  following 
morning,  for  in  spite  of  his  attempt  to 
treat  the  matter  as  though  it  were  an 
everyday  occurence,  his  trip  to  Balti- 
more was  an  event  of  much  importance 
in  his  life.  He  was  at  the  store  before 
his  grandfather,  which  was  unusual,  for 
Thomas  Dennison  was  an  early  riser, 
and  was  busily  engaged  in  looking  over 
the  stock  when  his  grandfather  arrived. 

"That's  right,  my  boy,"  was  the 
elder  man's  greeting.  "Never  go  to  mar- 
ket without  knowing  what  you  have 
on  hand,"  and  together  they  went  over 
the  lines  which  it  was  intended  to 
replenish. 

"Here's  a  couple  of  hundred  dollars," 
said  Mr.  Dennison  when  Herbert  an- 
nounced at  9.30  that  he  guessed  he'd 
better  be  getting  down  to  the  station. 
"You  won't  need  anywhere  near  that 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

amount  as  you  will  buy  everything  on 
time,  but  it's  just  possible  that  you 
might  find  something  in  one  of  the 
auction  houses  you  would  like  to  pick 
up.  These  sales  are  spot  cash.  It 
certainly  would  be  worth  while  looking 
in." 

Herbert's  opinion  of  his  own  impor- 
tance increased  as  he  tucked  the  money 
into  his  pocketbook  and  placed  it  in 
his  inside  vest  pocket. 

"It  might  be  a  good  plan,"  explained 
his  grandfather  watching  him  not  to 
put  it  all  in  one  place,  but  I  guess  you 
are  able  to  look  after  yourself.  If  you 
are  not,  nobody  is." 

"Oh,  I  can  take  care  of  myself  all 
right,"  replied  Herbert  as  he  picked  up 
his  grip  and  left  the  store. 

It  was  some  little  distance  to  the 
station,  but  Herbert  decided  to  walk  as 
it  gave  him  a  chance  to  mention  his 
mission  to  several  of  the  young  fellows 
as  he  passed  along.  About  a  block 
from  me  station  he  met  Win  King. 
One  glance  at  his  face  was  sufficient  to 

83 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

tell  Bert  that  something  had  happened; 
but  he  did  not  let  on  that  he  noticed  it. 

"You're  out  early,"  he  exclaimed. 
"Coming  down  to  the  train  to  see  me 
off." 

"Not  exactly,"  replied  Win  in  a 
sullen  manner,  "but  I  just  had  to  see 
you.  We've  had  a  terrible  row  up  at 
the  house  and  I  don't  think  I'll  ever 
go  back." 

"Why,  what's  the  matter?" 

"Oh,  it's  that  suit  I  bought  yester- 
day. Mother  told  father  about  it  last 
night  and  he  gave  me  an  awful  dressing 
down  this  morning.  Said  I  couldn't 
and  he  wouldn't  pay  for  it,  and  that  he 
was  going  down  to  see  your  grandfather 
about  it.  Why,  he'll  disgrace  me  be- 
fore the  whole  town,"  declared  Win, 
thinking  more  of  the  criticism  of  his 
young  friends  than  of  the  trouble  he 
was  causing  his  parents. 

"Oh,  not  so  bad  as  that,  Win.  He'll 
just  speak  to  the  old  man  about  it  and 
he'll  smooth  him  down  all  right." 

"No  he  won't,"  replied  Win.  "Father 

84 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

says  he's  one  of  the  men  that  Thomas 
Dennison  was  never  able  to  get  any 
hold  on,  and  he  don't  propose  to  give 
him  a  chance  now.  Said  he'd  rather 
owe  a  bill  to  any  man  in  the  world.  I 
know  what  he'll  do  and  the  whole  town 
will  hear  it." 

"It  is  kind  o'  rough,  isn't  it?"  de- 
clared Herbert  after  a  brief  pause. 
"But  I  don't  see  what  can  be  done 
about  it.  If  I  wasn't  going  away  I 
could  explain  it  to  grandfather;  but 
I've  got  to  take  this  train,  or  the  old 
man  would  be  pretty  mad." 

"Well,  what  do  you  think  of  me? 
And  besides,  Bert,  you  got  me  into  this 
and  you  ought  to  stand  by  me." 

"I  would,  Win,  if  I  were  going  to  be 
here;  but  I've  just  got  to  go.  Business 
is  business  and  I  can't  endanger  my 
prospects." 

"I  suppose  my  feelings  don't  amount 
to  anything .  Why,  I'll  be  the  laughing 
stock  of  the  whole  town." 

For  a  couple  of  minutes  they  walked 
in  silence. 

85 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?"  Bert 
finally  asked,  as  they  reached  the 
station. 

"I  don't  know,  but  I  won't  go  home. 
If  I  had  any  money  I'd  go  up  to  Balti- 
more and  get  a  job." 

"Why,  I'll  pay  your  fare  if  you  want 
to  go,  and  see  you  through  while  I'm 
there.  You'll  get  a  job  by  the  time  I 
get  ready  to  come  back." 

"Think  so?"  asked  Win  eagerly. 

"Sure!  I'll  introduce  you  to  a  friend 
of  mine,  a  travelling  man  by  the  name 
of  Ford,  who  sells  us  goods  every  month 
or  two.  There  may  be  something  right 
in  his  house." 

"And  you'll  pay  my  fare  to  Balti- 
more ?" 

"Yes.  You  can  go  right  along  with 
me." 

"Well,  I'm  certainly  much  obliged, 
Bert.  I  always  knew  you  were  a  good 
fellow,  but  I  didn't  expect  all  this." 

"That's  because  you  never  really 
knew  me."  replied  Bert,  swelling  up 
with  his  own  importance.  "What  do 

86 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

I  care  for  a  few  dollars  when  a  friend 
is  in  trouble.  You  just  stick  to  me  and 
I'll  make  a  man  of  you." 

"I  expect  maybe  the  folks  will  worry. 
Mother  always  does  about  everything." 

"Oh,  that'll  be  all  right,"  urged  Bert. 
"When  you  get  a  job  you  can  write 
them  and  show  them  you're  big  enough 
to  take  care  of  yourself.  We'll  have 
some  fun  in  Baltimore,  too.  What  do 
you  say  ?  Shall  I  get  you  a  ticket  ?" 

"Sure!  Didn't  I  say  I'd  go  if  I  had 
the  money?" 

It  was  not  until  Mr.  King  came  home 
to  dinner  that  Win's  absence  was  noted. 

"Isn't  Win  with  you?"  Mrs.  King 
asked  her  husband  as  he  entered  the 
house  alone. 

"  Why,  no.     Isn't  he  home  ?" 

"He  hasn't  been  back  since  I  sent 
him  to  market  this  morning,"  replied 
Mrs.  King.  "He  was  feeling  so  badly 
over  what  was  said  about  that  suit, 
I've  kind  o*  worried." 

'You  always  do;  but  maybe  I  was 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

a  bit  hasty,"  said  Mr.  King.  "I  was 
mightily  put  out  about  that  bill." 

"Of  course  he  didn't  do  right  —  " 

"But  I  don't  believe  he'd  have  done 
such  a  thing  if  Bert  Jones  hadn't  put 
him  up  to  it,"  interrupted  Mr.  King. 

"I'm  sure  he  wouldn't,"  replied  his 
wife.  "Maybe  Bert  thought  he  was 
doing  you  a  good  turn." 

"Not  likely;  but  anyway  I  went  in 
this  morning  and  paid  the  bill  without 
any  words.  I  might  'a  made  a  few 
remarks  to  young  Jones  if  he'd  been 
there;  but  he  went  to  Baltimore  this 
morning,  one  of  the  clerks  told  me." 

"  Well,  I'm  glad  you  settled  it,  Eben," 
with  a  sigh  of  relief.  "I  was  kind  o' 
worried  about  it  myself.  I  don't  be- 
lieve Win  will  ever  do  such  a  trick 
again." 

When  supper  time  came  and  still  Win 
did  not  put  in  an  appearance,  his 
parents  were  even  more  anxious  and 
after  supper  decided  to  go  over  to 
Aunt  Clara's  and  see  if  Del  knew 
aught  about  him. 

88 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"It's  just  possible  he's  gone  over 
home,"  suggested  Mrs.  King.  "Pa  is 
such  a  hand  to  take  the  children's  part 
whenever  any  of  them  do  anything." 

"Yes,"  declared  Mr.  King,  "or  he 
and  Del  may  have  gone  off  into  the 
mountains  somewhere." 

Del  and  his  grandparents  were  sitting 
on  the  back  porch  when  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
King  came  into  sight  up  the  hill. 

"There's  Uncle  Eben  and  Aunt 
Mary,"  exclaimed  Del.  "I  wonder 
where  Win  is." 

"We  don't  see  much  of  Win  these 
days,"  replied  Aunt  Clara.  "I'm 
afraid  he's  getting  into  bad  company." 

"Pshaw,"  exclaimed  Uncle  Josiah, 
"He's  just  busy  with  the  young  folks 
and  we  old  ones  don't  interest  him. 
That's  all." 

"I'm  sure  of  it,"  replied  Del.  "I 
think  he's  a  fine  fellow.  I'm  sorry  he 
didn't  come  along." 

But  neither  Del  nor  his  grandparents 
were  at  all  prepared  for  trie  news  the 
visitors  brought. 

89 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Now  where  do  you  suppose  he  can 
be?"  asked  Aunt  Clara  after  hearing 
what  her  daughter  had  to  say. 

"We  can't  imagine,"  declared  Mrs. 
Bang.  "I've  asked  all  the  boys,  and 
none  of  them  have  seen  him." 

"The  last  seen  of  him,"  explained 
Mr.  King,  "was  at  the  market.  When 
he  left  there  he  went  down  toward  the 
station." 

Recalling  his  conversation  with  Win 
the  night  before,  Del  asked:  "Is  there 
any  place  he  could  have  gone  on  the 
cars  ?" 

"Plenty,"  replied  his  father,  "only  I 
don't  think  he  had  more  than  a  dollar 
or  so.  Why?" 

Del  related  briefly  the  conversation 
he  had  with  him  the  night  before. 

"Of  course,"  he  continued,  "I  didn't 
know  what  he  was  driving  at  then;  but 
now  that  I  know  about  me  bill,  I  can 
see  why  he  was  dissatisfied  and  un- 
happy. No  one  can  be  happy  who  has 
any  fear  for  the  future." 

"Then  I  can't  see  how  anyone  can 

90 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

be  happy  in  this  world,"  declared  Mrs. 
King. 

"Why,  you're  not  afraid  of  the  fu- 
ture, are  you,  Aunt  Mary?" 

"Of  course  I  am.  1  never  know 
what's  going  to  happen  from  one  day 
to  the  next." 

"Well,  what's  the  difference  ?"  laugh- 
ed Del,  "if  whatever  happens,  as  you 
call  it,  is  good  ?" 

"It  isn't  always  good,"  was  the  reply. 
"It  seems  to  me  like  it  was  mostly  bad." 

"But  it  only  seems,  Aunt  Mary.  It 
can  not  really  be,  you  know,  because 
God  only  makes  good,  and  He  makes 
all  that  really  is." 

"You  talk  just  like  your  mother,  Del 
Henderson,"  declared  Mrs.  King,  "and 
she  and  I  never  did  agree.  Now  don't 
you  think  Win's  running  that  bill  and 
then  turning  up  missing  is  bad  ?" 

"Not  a  bit  of  it,"  replied  Del,  "It 
only  seems  bad,  because  we  don't  know 
the  real  facts  about  it." 

"Looks  to  me  like  he's  got  the  best 
of  you,  Mary,"  exclaimed  Uncle  Josiah. 

91 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  don't  see  nothin'  very  bad  about  it 
myself.  He  wanted  a  suit  of  clothes 
and  got  it." 

"What,  nothing  bad  in  making  his 
father  and  me  worry  like  this." 

"But  why  worry?"  asked  Uncle 
Josiah. 

"Now  what  a  question  to  ask,  Pa! 
I'd  like  to  know  how  you  can  help 
worrying  when  you  never  can  tell  what 
may  happen." 

Del  burst  into  a  laugh. 

"You're  right  back  at  the  same  old 
place,  Aunt  Mary;  but  if  you'll  just 
understand  for  one  minute  that  it's 
only  good  that  really  does  or  can 
happen,  you'll  see  there  is  nothing  to 
worry  about  and  stop." 

"That's  good  common  sense,"  de- 
clared Uncle  Josiah  emphatically. 
"  Win's  surely  big  enough  to  take  care 
of  himself." 

"If  he'll  only  shun  evil  companions," 
continued  Aunt  Clara. 

"Well,  how  any  good  is  going  to 
come  out  of  all  this  is  more  than  I  can 

92 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

see!"  exclaimed  Mrs.  King,  dejectedly. 
"Neither  do  you  have  to,"  replied 
Del,  "any  more  than  you  have  to 
figure  out  how  the  truth  about  any- 
thing destroys  the  untruth  about  it. 
It  just  does;  that's  all.'* 


93 


CHAPTER  EIGHT 

Early  the  next  morning  Del  started 
out  to  see  if  he  could  get  any  trace  of 
his  cousin.  He  visited  the  various 
places  in  Sharon  where  young  men  are 
wont  to  congregate,  but  none  had  seen 
Win.  He  asked  at  the  railroad  station, 
but,  strange  as  it  may  seem  in  a  small 
village,  no  one  had  seen  him  board  the 
train. 

Just  as  he  was  passing  Mr.  Denni- 
son's  store  on  the  way  home,  he  met 
Sally. 

"You  are  an  early  bird,"  he  said,  m 
wishing  her  good  morning. 

"Yes,"  she  replied,  "I'm  one  of 
those  who  believe  in  keeping  ahead  of 
my  work.  I  had  so  much  to  do  this 
morning,  because  Bert  has  gone  to 
Baltimore,  that  I  had  to  come  out 
unusually  early." 

94 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"When  did  your  brother  go  to  Balti- 
more?" 

"Yesterday  morning." 

"Alone?" 

"Oh,  yes.  It  was  his  first  business 
trip.  But  why  do  you  ask  ?" 

"My  Cousin  Win  went  somewhere 
yesterday  and  didn't  come  home  last 
night.  His  mother  is  anxious  about 
him." 

"I  don't  think  he  could  have  gone 
with  Bert.  At  least,  neither  of  mem 
said  anything  to  me  about  it. 

"But  I'll  tell  "you,"  suddenly  ex- 
claimed Sally.  : 'You  might  ask  Ruth. 
Win  tells  her  pretty  nearly  everything." 

"I  will,"  replied  Del  as  he  touched 
his  hat  and  turned  suddenly  off  in  the 
direction  of  Ruth's  home. 

"Surely  a  fellow  who  makes  a  girl 
like  Ruth  Jackson  his  confidante  can't 
go  far  wrong,"  he  thought  to  himself 
as  he  hastened  along.  "I  hope  he  has 
done  it  this  time." 

But  he  was  doomed  to  disappoint- 
ment. Win  had  not  confided  to  Ruth 

95 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

anything  about  his  little  financial  trans- 
action, nor  had  he  even  suggested  that 
he  was  thinking  of  going  away.  In 
fact,  as  we  know,  he  had  not  contem- 
plated it  when  he  left  Ruth  at  her 
nome  the  previous  night. 

"I  am  sure,  however,"  the  girl  de- 
clared, "that  Win  has  not  gone  away 
alone.  I  know  him  well.  In  the  first 
place  he  hasn't  independence  enough 
to  start  out  for  himself  and  in  the  next 
place  — "  She  stopped. 

Del  waited  for  her  to  proceed. 

"I  do  not  know  that  I  ought  to  say 
it  to  his  cousin,"  Ruth  continued,  "but 
Win  is  somewhat  selfish." 

"I  can  see  that,"  replied  Del,  "or  he 
would  not  cause  his  parents  unneces- 
sary anxiety.  To  make  others  unhappy 
is  the  greatest  proof  of  selfishness." 

"And  that  same  selfishness,"  said 
Ruth,  "would  keep  him  from  doing 
anything  that  would  cause  him  any 
hardship." 

"True,"  exclaimed  Del.  "Selfish- 
ness makes  cowards." 

96 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"For  that  reason,"  continued  Ruth, 
"I  do  not  think  he  has  gone  away  alone 
and  without  money,  fife  has  gone  with 
someone  who  has  money,  and  Bert 
Jones  is  the  only  boy  in  Sharon  that 
has  much  to  spend." 

"None  of  us  have    much,"    laughed 
Del. 

"But  Sally  says  you  are  going  to 
Europe,"  exclaimed  Ruth  before  she 
thought  just  how  her  words  would 
sound. 

"That  doesn'  indicate  that  I  am 
one  who  has  much  money  to  spend," 
declared  Del.  "It  simply  means  that 
father  has  made  some  sacrifices." 

Ruth's  color  deepened. 

"I  certainly  beg  your  pardon,"  she 
said.  "I  had  no  wish  to  pry  into  your 
affairs." 

Del  laughed  good-humoredly  as  he 
replied:  "I  am  sure  you  did  not,  and 
as  a  proof  of  it  I  will  take  you  into  my 
confidence.  The  money  on  which  I 
am  going  to  Europe  is  about  five  hun- 
dred dollars  that  I  did  not  use  out  of 

97 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

the  allowance  that  father  set  aside  for 
my  four  years  at  college." 

"Most  young  fellows  use — ,"  began 
Ruth,  but  Del  interrupted. 

"Oh,  it  wasn't  that  I  didn't  spend 
enough  as  it  was,  for  father  was  liberal. 
But  I  felt  sure  he  could  use  all  the 
money  he  had  to  advantage,  and  as 
my  needs  did  not  demand  the  extra 
five  hundred  I  didn't  use  it. 

"About  ten  days  ago,  however,  father 
sent  me  a  draft  for  the  amount,  saying 
he  had  set  aside  a  certain  sum  for  my 
college  expenses.  Had  I  been  extrava- 
gant, he  declared  he  should  not  have 
increased  the  amount.  Now  that  I  had 
saved  it,  he  felt  it  was  mine  to  do  with 
as  I  pleased.  Knowing  that  I  had  been 
anxious  for  a  run  through  Europe,  he 
suggested  I  use  it  that  way.  A  party  of 
us  are  going  and  I  expect  to  have  the 
time  of  my  life.  Why,  now  that  I  have 
arranged  for  it,  I  can  hardly  wait  till 
I  am  climbing  some  Alpine  peak  —  " 

"Just  as  you  climbed  that  railroad 
bridge,"  interrupted  Ruth. 

98 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"O  pshaw!  let's  forget  that." 

"You  may  forget  it  as  soon  as  you 
have  a  mind,  but  Mandy  thinks  you 
are  the  most  wonderful  young  man  she 
ever  saw.  Of  course,  she  says,  'he 
just  couldn't  help  it  with  such  a  grand- 
pa.' She  is  a  firm  believer  in  heredity." 

"So  am  I,"  declared  Del.  "But  I 
understand  that  the  birthright  which 
prompts  us  to  do  right  and  which  is 
our  only  real  heritage,  comes  from  our 
Father  in  Heaven;  therefore  every 
young  man  inherits  that  ability  if  he 
only  knows  it. 

"But  now  about  Win.  I  am  sure 
you  think  as  I  do,  that  he  has  gone  to 
Baltimore  with  Bert  Jones." 

"I  almost  know  it  and  —  and  I'm  so 
sorry.  I  do  hate  to  see  Win  get  into 
evil  company,  and  Bert  —  well,  Bert  is 
wild  and  always  has  lots  of  money  — 
and  — ' 

There  were  tears  in  her  voice  and 
Del  interrupted  her  by  exclaiming. 

"And  you  think  he  ought  to  be 
brought  back  ?" 

99 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"That  isn't  what  I  was  going  to  say; 
but  I  wish  he  could." 

"Well,  he  shall  be." 

Del  looked  at  his  watch. 

"It's  too  late  for  the  morning  train, 
but  I'll  take  the  4.30.  I  don't  think 
I'll  tell  anyone  —  if  you  don't  mind. 
I'll  just  go  and  get  him." 

Ruth  understood  without  further 
words. 

"You  can  depend  on  me,"  she  said. 
"I'll  be  as  mum  as  an  oyster." 

"And  if  it's  not  too  much  trouble," 
said  Del,  "would  you  drop  in  and  see 
his  mother  some  time  today  and  cheer 
her  up  a  bit?" 

"  Of  course  I  will.    I'll  go  right  now." 

"All  right.  I'll  walk  down  town 
with  you." 

Together  they  strolled  down  the  street 
and  were  about  to  separate  when  they 
heard  someone  behind  them  calling: 

"O  Miss  Ruth!  O  Mr.  Man!  Wait 
fob  me!  Wait  foh  me!" 

Turning  about  they  beheld  Mandy 
coming  as  fast  as  her  short  legs  would 

100 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

carry  her,  for  Mandy  was  one  of  the 
short  kind  that  looked  much  like  the 
proverbial  feather  bed  tied  in  the  middle 
with  a  string. 

"  Mandy  seems  considerably  excited," 
laughed  Del.  "I  hope  George  Wash- 
ington and  so  forth  hasn't  been  up  to 
some  new  mischief." 

"Aunt  Becky,  more  likely,"  replied 
Ruth  as  they  waited  for  Mandy  to 
come  up.  Then  as  she  approached, 
"What  is  it,  Mandy?" 

"Wa-wa-wait  till  I  done  cotch  my 
bref,  Miss  Ruth.  I  clar  I'se  mos  ready 
to  drop.  Oh,  it's  awful!  It's  awful!" 

"It  certainly  would  be  if  you  should 
drop,  Mandy.  ' 

"Dis  ain't  no  time  foh  jokin',  Miss 
Ruth.  No,  ma'am.  Dis  is  de  mos 
awfulles  thing  you  ever  heard."  Then 
in  a  stage  whisper:  "De  sheriff's  done 
been  dar!" 

''The  sheriff's  been  where?" 
"Down  to  Miss  Becky's.     He  says 
she  done  got  to  go,  shua  nuff." 

101 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"  Got  to  go  ?  You  don't  mean  to  the 
poor-house?"  gasped  Ruth. 

"He  done  say  he  don'  care  where 
she  go.  She  got  to  git  outen  dat  house 
right  off.  Oh,  it's  awful!  Awful!"  and 
Mandy  rolled  her  eyes  in  a  manner 
expressive  of  her  sentiment. 

*' What's  it  all  about,  Miss  Ruth?" 
asked  Del,  for  he  was  not  up  on  the 
village  gossip. 

"About  Aunt  Becky  Babcock,"  re- 
plied Ruth.  "If  you'll  walk  along 
with  me  I'll  tell  you  all  I  know  and 
maybe  you  can  tell  me  what  to  do. 
You  seem  to  see  the  bright  side." 

"Thank  you,"  laughed  Del.  "That 
is  certainly  a  compliment  to  my  method 
of  thinking." 

Ruth  looked  up  and  smiled. 

"How  different  you  are,"  she  ex- 
claimed, "from  what  I  thought!" 

:<Yes?     In  what  way?" 

"In  every  way.  Because  Aunt  Clara 
said  you  were  good,  I  thought  you 
must  be  a  sanctimonious  prig,  who 
never  smiled  and  —  and  —  " 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

.     "And  what?" 

"And  wore  your  hair  cut  straight 
across  the  back!"  laughed  Ruth  "if  you 
must  know.  Now  it's  all  out  and  1 
feel  better!" 

Del's  laugh  was  hearty  and  infec- 
tious. Even  Mandy  joined  in. 

"What  a  surprise  I  must  have  been," 
he  finally  managed  to  say.  "But,"  he 
added  a  bit  more  seriously,  "being 
good  —  or  trying  to  be  good  anyway 
—  doesn't  make  one  sanctimonious  as 
you  call  it;  it  make  one  jolly.  Good- 
ness makes  the  world  look  bright  to  you, 
and  after  a  bit  it  becomes  a  habit  to 
look  on  the  bright  side,  because  you 
learn  that  in  reality  there  is  no  other." 

They  proceeded  a  few  steps  in  silence. 
"Now  then,"  said  Del,  "tell  me  about 
Aunt  Becky  Babcock  and  what  you 
want  done  for  her." 

As  they  walked  along  through  the 
June  sunshine,  Ruth  narrated  to  Del 
as  best  she  could  the  story  of  Aunt 
Becky.  Told  him  of  the  aged  woman's 
trials  from  the  time  she  was  left  a 

103 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

widow  up  to  the  present;  told  him  of 
the  help  that  had  been  given  her  from 
time  to  time  and  finally  of  what  was 
about  to  happen. 

"And  did  she  never  hear  from  her 
daughter  and  son-in-law  after  they 
went  away." 

;<Yes,  for  a  few  years,"  explained 
Ruth.  "and  then  all  at  once  the  letters 
stopped  coming." 

"Did  she  never  try  to  locate  them. 
Certainly  her  daughter  would  be  glad 
to  help  her.  It's  right  that  she  should." 

"Maybe  she  would,  if  we  knew 
where  to  reach  her;  but  no  one  does." 

"And  has  no  one  ever  told  Mr. 
Dennison  —  " 

"About  her  condition?  Oh,  yes, 
Uncle  Josiah  told  him  once  so  that  all 
the  village  heard  it;  but  that  made  no 
difference  to  Thomas  Dennison.  'Busi- 
ness is  business,'  was  all  he  said." 

"Yes,  business  is  business,"  replied 
Del,  "and  to  some  men  it  is  more  —  it 
is  their  god;  but  that  wasn't  what  I 
was  going  to  ask.  I  was  going  to  ask 

104 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

if  no  one  had  ever  told  Mr.  Dennison 
about  the  Golden  Rule  ?" 

Ruth  looked  up  in  surprise. 

"Why,  I  suppose  so,"  she  replied. 
"He's  a  member  of  the  church,  and 
claims  to  be  a  Christian." 

"Do  you  think  he  is?" 

"I  used  to,"  replied  Ruth.  "Now  I 
am  not  so  sure.  What  do  you  think  ?" 

"You  heard  my  definition  of  a 
Christian  the  other  night:  One  who 
always  does  right.  Do  you  think  Mr. 
Dennison  is  doing  right?  Do  you 
think  the  Golden  Rule  is  his  standard 
of  measurement  ?" 

"He  may  think  so,"  replied  Ruth. 

"But  that  doesn't  necessarily  make 
it  so.  The  rule  is  capable  of  proof." 

"Doesn't  the  Bible  say  we  should  not 
judge?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Nor  should  we;  but  would  it  be 
judging  to  point  out  to  any  one  that 
he  ought  to  work  out  his  mathematical 
problems  on  the  basis  of  twice  two  are 
four?" 

"Hardly,"  laughed  Ruth. 

105 


"The  Golden  Rule  is  just  as  scien- 
tific a  rule  of  life  as  the  other  is  of  mathe- 
matics," declared  Del.  "Is  it  judging 
to  call  attention  to  this  great  rule? 
Jesus  did." 

"But  Jesus  was  different." 

"Of  course  He  was  different;  and 
the  things  he  did  and  told  others  to  do 
were  what  made  Him  so.  We  can  be 
like  Him  if  we  try." 

"Do  you  think  so?"  asked  Ruth. 
"I  have  tried,  but  He  seems  so  far 
above  us." 

"And  so  He  was,"  replied  Del  ear- 
nestly. "  But  first  of  all  He  was  human. 
His  heart  went  out  to  the  sick  and 
suffering;  to  the  poor  and  needy  like 
Aunt  Becky.  It  was  through  the  love 
of  Jesus  for  struggling  humanity  that 
the  divinity  of  Christ  appeared.  If  we 
would  prove  ourselves  the  'sons  of 
God*  —  as  John  says  we  are  —  we 
must  follow  in  Jesus'  footsteps." 

For  some  minutes  they  walked  in 
silence,  until  Mandy  coming  up  close 
to  Ruth  whispered: 

106 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"He  done  talk  jus'  laik  a  preacher, 
but  he  don't  look  nor  act  like  one." 

Arriving  at  Aunt  Becky's  humble 
home  they  found  the  old  woman  greatly 
distressed,  but  apparently  resigned  to 
her  fate. 

"As  long  as  it's  got  to  come,"  she 
declared  as  Del  was  leaving,  "the 
sooner  the  better.  I've  worked  my 
hardest  and  prayed  my  best,  but  it's 
clear  the  good  Lord  has  forgotten  that 
there  is  such  a  woman  as  Rebecca 
Babcock." 

"Don't  you  believe  it,"  exclaimed 
Del.  "Didn't  you  just  say  he  was  a 
good  Lord  and  how  can  a  good  God 
forget  His  children.  Just  you  know 
that  He  has  not  forgotten  you.  Just 
you  get  so  close  to  Him  that  trouble 
can  not  come  near.  Read  the  Ninety- 
first  Psalm,  believe  what  it  says  and 
your  dwelling  place  will  be  secure.  If 
it  is  right  that  you  should  remain  here, 
you  are  going  to,  for  right  will  certainly 
prevail." 

At  dinner  Del  told  his  grandparents 

107 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

of  his  forenoon's  experiences  and  his 
surmise  about  Win,  saying  he  should 
take  steps  to  get  him  back.  When  he 
told  about  Aunt  Becky,  Aunt  Clara 
asked : 

"Isn't  there  any  one  who  can  prevent 
her  from  being  turned  out  ?" 

"Not  if  Tom  Dennison  wants  to  go 
ahead  and  foreclose,"  replied  Uncle 
Josiah,  "and  I  understand  he's  deter- 
mined to  do  it." 

"Couldn't  some  one  pay  him  the 
money,  Josiah?" 

"Oh,  yes,  they  could;  but  I  don't 
know  anybody  in  Sharon  that's  got 
four  hundred  dollars  in  cash  to  put  up 
for  such  a  purpose. 

"No,"  continued  Uncle  Josiah  as  he 
viciously  cut  a  piece  of  corn  bread, 
"if  Tom  Dennison's  mean  enough  to 
turn  Aunt  Becky  out,  he's  got  the  pow- 
er to  do  it." 

"And  an  evil  power  it  is!"  exclaimed 
Aunt  Clara. 

"Then  it  is  no  power  at  all,"  de- 

108 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

clared  Del  emphatically,  "for  good  is 
the  only  power." 

Uncle  Josiah  stopped  in  the  midst 
of  buttering  his  bread,  and  with  his 
knife  poised  in  the  air  asked:  "Now 
where  on  earth  did  you  ever  get  such 
an  idea  as  that?" 

"Isn't  it  true?" 

"Well  if  you  think  so,  young  man, 
you  just  wait  around  here  till  Tom 
Dennison  gets  ready,  and  you'll  see 
it  ain't  got  the  power  to  stop  him." 

"All  right,"  laughed  Del.  "I  think 
I  shall  wait  and  see." 


109 


CHAPTER  NINE 

The  four  hours  trip  from  Sharon  to 
Baltimore  is  a  pleasant  ride,  down  the 
mountain  side  and  across  a  historical 
part  of  the  Old  Dominion;  thence  up 
the  valley,  catching  here  and  there  a 
glimpse  of  the  Potomac,  into  the  na- 
tional capital  and  finally  across  the 
most  fertile  part  of  Maryland  into  its 
busy  metropolis. 

Having  travelled  little,  the  trip  was 
full  of  novelty  to  Win,  and  had  it  not 
been  for  the  consciousness  of  wrong 
within  himself,  he  would  have  enjoyed 
it  immensely.  Even  as  it  was,  there 
were  times  when  he  became  so  inter- 
ested in  what  he  saw  that  he  forgot  the 
inharmony  within  for  the  beauty  with- 
out and  would  be  feeling  quite  happy, 
when  again  the  sense  of  wrong 
doing  would  make  itself  felt  and  take 
all  pleasure  out  of  the  occasion.  At 

110 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

such  times  the  smile  would  leave  his 
face  and  he  would  suddenly  become  so 
serious  that  once  Bert  said  to  him : 

"What  are  you  looking  so  grumpy 
about?  Anyone  would  think  you'd 
lost  your  last  friend." 

Win  felt  like  saying  that  it  was  just 
the  way  he  did  feel,  but  fear  of  Bert's 
ridicule  caused  him  to  make  an  eva- 
sive answer  and  to  appear  as  bright  as 
possible. 

Arriving  in  Baltimore,  they  went  at 
once  to  a  leading  hotel,  where  they 
engaged  adjoining  rooms  with  a  bath 
between,  for  which  the  price  was  five 
dollars  a  day. 

"We  won  t  be  here  only  three  days," 
said  Bert,  "and  we  might  as  well  have 
a  good  time.  There's  nothing  that 
makes  you  feel  so  swell  as  having  a  nice 
room  with  all  the  accommodations." 

It  was  an  entirely  new  experience  to 
Win  and  there  was  so  much  that  was 
novel,  that  he  forgot  for  the  time  being 
that  he  had  but  a  couple  of  dollars 
in  the  world  and  no  immediate  chance 

111 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

of  getting  any  more.  To  be  sure,  Bert 
had  plenty  01  money  and  had  agreed  to 
let  him  have  all  he  needed  for  tne  time 
they  were  together;  but  he  did  not  stop 
to  consider  that  this  was  not  his;  that 
he  was  incurring  a  debt  which  he  did 
not  know  when  he  could  pay  and  above 
all,  that  he  was  placing  himself  in  a 
position  he  could  not  maintain  and 
from  which  he  could  not-  withdraw 
with  honor. 

It  was  two  o'clock  when  they  arrived, 
but  by  the  time  they  had  engaged  their 
rooms  and  had  their  dinner,  it  was 
nearly  four,  so  Bert,  impressed  with  his 
own  importance,  suggested  that  Win 
wait  at  the  hotel  while  he  go  out  and 
call  upon  one  or  two  of  the  firms  with 
whom  he  had  business. 

"I  won't  be  gone  more  than  an 
hour,"  he  explained,  "and  in  the  mean- 
time you  can  go  out  and  get  you  some 
clean  linen  and  a  new  tie.  You  look 
a  little  the  worse  for  wear,  and  I  want 
you  to  put  on  a  good  front  when  you 

112 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

meet  my  friends.  It  will  be  time 
enough  to  look  for  a  job  tomorrow." 

Following  Bert's  suggestion,  Win 
walked  down  the  street  looking  in  the 
windows  until  he  came  to  a  furnishing 
goods  establishment.  Here  he  made 
his  purchases  and  after  walking  about 
till  he  thought  the  hour  must  be  about 
up,  went  back  to  the  hotel.  Bert  had 
not  yet  returned  and  Win  sat  down  to 
wait.  Alone  with  himself,  for  the  first 
time  he  began  to  take  account  of  his. 
act.  He  knew  he  had  done  wrong 
and  he  knew  when  night  came  his  folks 
would  be  greatly  worried. 

"But,"  he  said  to  himself  by  way  of 
an  excuse,  "they  have  no  business  to 
treat  me  as  though  I  were  a  kid.  I'm 
nineteen  years  old  and  ought  to  be 
treated  as  a  man." 

In  spite  of  his  arguments,  however, 
he  failed  to  make  himself  easy.  He 
could  see  his  mother's  face  and  hear 
his  father's  voice  almost  as  though  he 
were  there. 

"Mother's    always    worrying,"     he 

113 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

again  argued,  "and  she  might  as  well 
worry  over  me  as  anything  else.  I  cer- 
tainly like  this  better  than  being  nagged 
at  all  the  time,  anyway." 

Then  after  a  few  minutes  pause  he 
made  the  only  resolve  of  the  day  that 
was  a  credit  to  him. 

"I'll  go  write  them,"  he  declared. 
"I  certainly  am  not  trying  to  hide  and 
I'll  just  tell  them  I've  decided  to  get  a 
job  and  look  out  for  myself." 

He  had  not  yet  learned  that  he  could 
have  writing  materials  sent  to  his  room, 
so  he  started  for  the  writing  room;  but 
at  the  foot  of  the  elevator  met  Bert. 

"Hello,  Win,"  he  exclaimed.  "I 
was  just  coming  after  you.  Come  into 
the  smoking  room  and  meet  a  friend  of 
mine." 

"I  was  going  to  write  a  letter,"  re- 
plied Win,  "but  I  guess  it  can  wait," 
and  he  followed  Bert  to  where  a  fash- 
ionably dressed  young  man  was  await- 
ing them. 

"Mr.  Ford,  this  is  my  friend  King," 
said  Bert  introducing  them.  "Win, 

114 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


shake  hands  with  Mr.  Ford  of  Buxton 
&  Williams." 

"Just  plain  Jack  Ford,"  said  the 
young  man,  extending  his  hand  in  a 
hearty  manner.  "Pleased  to  meet  you." 

Win  shook  hands  in  a  listless  man- 
ner, feeling  all  the  time  that  he  was  out 

O 

of  place  and  contrasting  his  feeling  of 
awkwardness  with  Ford  s  easy  manner. 

"Jack,"  explained  Bert  absorbing 
quite  readily  the  atmosphere  of  his 
surroundings,  "is  the  crack  salesman 
of  the  house,  and  has  agreed  to  help 
me  select  some  new  goods  tomorrow." 

"And  in  the  meantime,"  explained 
Mr.  Ford,  "I  want  you  to  take  dinner 
with  me.  Tonight  we'll  go  out  to  the 
garden." 

"I  didn't  know  gardens  were  open 
evenings,"  ventured  Win. 

"This  is,"  laughed  Ford.  "It's  called 
a  garden,  however,  simply  because  it 
is  outdoors.  It  is  really  a  place  of 
amusement,  and  there  is  a  very  good 
show  there  this  week.  How  does  the 
plan  suit  you  ?" 

115 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"It  suits  me  down  to  the  ground/' 
answered  Bert. 

"Me  too"  replied  Win. 

"Very  well,  then,"  said  Mr.  Ford, 
"suppose  we  give  our  order  for  dinner 
now,"  and  suiting  the  action  to  the 
word  he  led  the  way  to  the  cafe,  Bert 
remarking  to  Win  as  they  passed  along : 

"Don't  be  so  everlasting  green." 

For  the  next  few  hours  Win  was  given 
his  first  taste  of  the  so-called  "life"  of 
a  great  city.  Following  the  dinner,  at 
which,  with  a  wrong  idea  of  hospital- 
ity, Mr.  Ford  had  made  wine  one  of 
the  features,  they  boarded  an  electric 
car  and  started  for  the  summer  garden. 
The  effects  of  the  liquor,  the  excite- 
ment induced  by  the  hustle  and  bustle 
of  the  city  and  the  lights  and  music  of 
the  cafe,  made  the  boys  practically 
oblivious  to  any  definite  sense  of  the 
things  they  saw,  all  uniting  to  form  one 
great  kaleidoscopic  picture  of  gayety 
and  pleasure.  To  Win,  particularly, 
the  whole  event  seemed  like  a  dream, 
and  he  allowed  himself  to  be  carried 

116 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


along  without  knowing  or  caring  whith- 
er he  went  or  where  he  would  awaken. 

Robin  Hood  was  the  opera  in  the 
garden  theater,  and  between  the  acts 
the  young  men  strolled  about  the 
brilliantly  lighted  resort  and  visited  the 
buffet,  where,  the  night  being  warm, 
they  had  several  cool  drinks,  in  all  of 
which  was  more  or  less  that  intoxi- 
cates. The  result  was  that  by  the 
time  the  opera  was  over,  not  only  Win, 
but  Bert  as  well,  were  in  a  pitiable  con- 
dition. When  half  an  hour  later  they 
encountered  a  party  of  young  folks, 
composed  largely  of  members  of  the 
opera  company,  they  had  about  lost 
consciousness  of  time  and  place.  All 
Win  realized  was  that  someone  men- 
tioned supper  and  that  after  much  con- 
fusion in  securing  a  table  and  seats,  he 
found  himself  beside  an  attractive  girl 
with  a  low  sweet  voice,  to  whom  Mr. 
Ford  was  saying: 

"They  tell  me,  Miss  Ray,  that  you 
are  leaving  the  company  this  week. 

117 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


What  will  Miss  Cabott  do  for  an  under- 
study?" 

"Oh,  there  are  plenty  of  others  who 
will  do  quite  as  well,  I  am  sure,"  rej  lied 
Miss  Ray. 

"Now,  Maude,  don't  be  so  modest!" 
exclaimed  another  young  woman.  "You 
know  there  isn't  a  girl  in  the  company 
that  could  have  gone  on  and  sung  the 
part  as  you  did  when  Miss  Cabott  was 
called  away  last  week." 

"I  think  there  is,"  was  the  reply. 
"At  any  rate  someone  will  have  a 
chance  to  try." 

"I'm  sure  we  shall  all  miss  you," 
said  Mr.  Ford. 

"In  the  company  as  well  as  out," 
said  one  of  the  young  men.  "Where 
are  you  going,  Maude  ?" 

"I'm  taking  a  rest  for  a  week  and 
then  over  to  New  York  where  I  have 
an  engagement." 

"In  stock?" 

"No,  I'm  going  with  the  'Prairie 
Queen.'  Six  weeks  in  New  York  and 
then  to  Chicago,  I  have  a  small  part." 

118 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Glad  to  hear  it.  Hope  you  make 
good!" 

"I  feel  sure  I  shall.  I  just  can't 
help  it,  you  know." 

"Yes,  I  know  that's  the  way  you 
think,"  laughed  Mr.  Ford.  "But  there 
have  been  failures!" 

Maude  laughed  in  reply. 

"Not  really,  you  know.  But  I'm 
sure  it  is  right  for  me  to  have  the  place 
and  I  shall  do  the  best  I  can." 

"Well,  I'm  not  going  to  argue  with 
you.  You've  made  too  big  a  hit  here 
for  anyone  to  doubt  your  ability." 

"I'd  give  a  season's  salary  to  have 
Maude's  optimism,"  said  one  of  the 
others. 

"Most  anyone  would,"  replied  Mr. 
Ford.  "But  I'm  beginning  to  think 
it's  something  more  than  that,"  he 
continued  more  seriously. 

Maude  made  no  reply,  for  just  then 
her  attention  was  attracted  to  Win. 
He  was  looking  from  one  to  another  in 
a  helpless  sort  of  way  and  trying  to 
attract  Bert's  attention. 

119 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


"What's  the  matter?"  she  asked 
auietly,  so  as  not  to  call  the  attention  of 
tne  others  to  his  condition. 

"I  don't  know.  I  feel  awful  bad. 
I  wish  I  were  home." 

"Where's  home?" 
'Too  far  for  me  to  get  there,"  re- 
plied Win.     "My,  but  I'm  dizzy!" 

A  look  of  pity  came  into  the  girl's 
eyes  and  then  she  burst  into  a  merry 
laugh. 

'  Of  course  I'll  go,"  she  said  loud 
enough  to  attract  everyone's  attention. 
"Come  on!" 

Then  as  she  pushed  her  chair  back 
she  explained  to  the  others:  "We're 
going  to  take  a  ride  on  the  coaster 
while  we're  waiting  for  supper.  Come 
on!"  and  taking  Win  by  tne  arm  she 
almost  lifted  him  from  his  seat  and 
led  him  out  into  the  garden. 

Maude  Ray  was  an  athletic  girl,  but 
it  took  all  her  strength  to  guide  Win 
along  so  that  his  condition  could  not 
be  noticed.  A  few  minutes  walk  helped 
some  and  as  soon  as  she  saw  he  was 

120 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

again  able  to  look  after  himself  she 
asked : 

" Where  are  you  stopping?" 

Win  told  her  the  name  of  the  hotel. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  find  your 
way  there  alone." 

"The  car  runs  almost  by  the  door." 

"Then  I'm  going  to  put  you  on  the 
car  and  I  want  you  to  promise  me 
you'll  go  straight  to  the  hotel  and  to 
oed.  This  is  no  place  for  you." 

"What  will  the  rest  of  them  think?" 
asked  Win. 

"It  doesn't  make  a  bit  of  difference 
what  they  think.  They  are  nothing  to 
you.  How  did  you  ever  get  into  such 
company  ?" 

Win  looked  at  her  in  maudlin  sur- 
prise and  instead  of  replying  asked : 

"How  did  you  get  into  such  com- 
pany yourself?" 

"I  am  making  the  stage  my  pro- 
fession, and  it  seems  one  has  to  begin 
at  the  bottom.  I'm  working  for  my 
living.  But  you  —  you  ought  to  be 
back  in  the  country  where  you  belong." 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

In  his  unnatural  and  overwrought 
condition  Win  burst  into  tears. 

"I  know  I  ought,"  he  exclaimed. 
"I  never  should  have  left  there." 

"Why  did  you?" 

"I  ran  away  with  Bert  this  morning; 
or  rather,  I  ran  away.  He  didn't.  He 
had  business  here.  But  I  just  came  to 
get  away  from  home." 

Maude  looked  at  him  in  compassion. 

"Well,  you  take  this  car  to  the  hotel 
and  go  to  oed."  Then  as  he  was  about 
to  get  aboard:  "Have  you  any  money  ?" 

"Bert  has." 

"Take  my  advice  and  make  him 
give  you  enough  to  go  home  on  the  first 
train  tomorrow  morning." 

"I  will." 

A  sudden  impulse  seized  the  girl  and, 
opening  her  purse,  she  handed  him 
her  card. 

"There  is  my  address,"  she  said  as 
the  car  started.  "When  you  reach 
home,  write  me.  I  should  like  to  be 
sure  you  get  there  all  right," 

122 


CHAPTER  TEN 

When  Win  awoke  the  next  morning 
it  was  with  a  heavy  head  and  a  heavier 
heart.  He  attempted  to  rise,  but  for 
some  minutes  was  unable  to  do  so. 
Then  he  tried  to  recall  the  events  of 
the  preceding  evening,  but  with  little 
avail.  The  scene  at  the  garden  and 
his  return  home  were  so  jumbled  up  in 
his  mind  that  he  had  almost  no  recollec- 
tion of  how  he  reached  the  hotel  or  his 
room. 

Pulling  himself  together  with  a  strug- 
gle, however,  he  finally  managed  to 
reach  the  bath  tub,  wnere  a  plunge 
into  the  cold  water  gave  him  much 
relief  and  enabled  him  to  dress. 

Entering  Bert's  room  he  discovered 
that  his  companion  had  already  gone 
out.  He  was  about  to  go  in  search  of 
him  when  Bert  came  in. 

"  You're  a  nice  one,"  was  Bert's  first 

123 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

greeting,  "to  play  me  a  trick  like  that." 

"Like  what?"  asked  Win,  unable  to 
remember  what  he  might  have  said  or 
done. 

"Why,  go  off  and  leave  me  with  all 
that  supper  to  pay  for." 

"You  expected  to  pay  for  it,  didn't 
you  ?  You  knew  I  had  no  money  ?" 

"I  knew  you  didn't  have  much,  but 
I  expected  you'd  offer  to  stand  your 
share." 

"I  have  but  fifty  cents  to  my 
name,"  said  Win  with  a  trembling 
voice.  "Besides  I  was  sick  and  better 
in  bed." 

'Yes,  there's  no  doubt  you  were 
better  in  bed.  That's  what  Maude 
said." 

"Did  she  say  that?" 

"Yes,  she  said  that  and  a  whole  lot 
more.  She  gave  Ford  and  me  a  terrible 
roasting  for  bringing  you  out.  Said  it 
was  all  our  fault  that  you  were  in  the 
condition  you  were  and  that  you  ought 
to  be  back  home  with  your  mother!" 

"Oh,  I  wish  I  were!"  exclaimed  Win 

124 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

bursting  into  tears,  his  heavy  head  and 
heart  making  it  impossible  for  him  to 
control  his  feelings. 

"I  wish  you  were,  too,"  declared 
Bert  angrily.  "Ford  felt  terribly  cut 
up  at  being  talked  to  like  that  before 
all  those  friends  of  his." 

"I  couldn't  help  it,"  pleaded  Win. 
"I  never  drank  anything  in  my  life 
before  and  I  didn't  know  it  would  affect 
me  like  that.  Just  give  me  money 
enough  to  pay  my  hotel  bill  and  my 
fare  home  and  I'll  bet  I'll  never 
touch  another  drop." 

"  Baby !"  sneered  Bert.  "  Why  should 
I  give  you  money  to  pay  your  hotel 
bill  and  your  fare  home  ?' 

"You  said  you'd  see  me  through," 
said  Win  in  surprise,  "You're  not  go- 
ing back  on  your  word,  are  you  ?" 

"I  didn't  tell  you  I'd  give  you  money 
to  play  the  baby  act,"  said  Bert  eva- 
sively. "I  thought  you  were  coming 
along  to  help  me  nave  some  fun.  Now 
look  at  you!" 

Win  could  hardly  speak  for  the  sobs 

125 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

that  came  up  in  his  throat,  but  he 
managed  to  say,  with  some  little  dis- 
play of  manhood:  "All  right,  if  you 
don't  want  to,  you  don't  have  to!" 

"I  know  I  don't  have  to.  But  what'll 
you  do  if  I  don't?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  I'll  do  something. 
I'll  get  a  job." 

"  Yes,  you  will,"  sneered  Bert.  "Why 
if  I  wasn't  here  to  help  you  out,  you'a 
starve  to  death." 

Win  made  no  reply.  He  had  already 
discovered  that  he  was  out  of  place 
and  that  only  under  the  most  favorable 
conditions  would  he  be  able  to  make 
his  way  in  a  large  city.  His  evil  acts 
had  deprived  him  of  the  strength  he 
would  nave  experienced  from  a  clean 
conscience  and  a  clear  head,  and  he 
was  most  wretched;  so  he  simply  cried, 
like  the  child  he  was. 

"Then  you  will  help  me!"  he  sobbed. 
"You'll  let  me  have  the  money  to  pay 
up  here  and  go  home." 

Then  as  a  feeling  of  dizziness  came 
over  him  he  sank  into  a  chair. 

126 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"No,  I  won't,"  exclaimed  Bert  an- 
grily. "I  haven't  any  use  for  a  baby. 
You  can  stay  here  a  week  before  they'll 
ask  you  for  any  money  and  if  you're 
any  good  you  can  get  a  job  by  that 
time.  I've  spent  twenty-five  dollars 
on  you  already.  I've  got  to  look  out 
for  mvself  and  I'm  not  going  to  queer 
my  chances.  Here's  a  dollar  to  get 
some  breakfast  and  that's  the  last  cent 
I'll  give  you." 

Throwing  a  dollar  bill  on  the  table, 
Bert  left  the  room. 

The  sound  of  the  slamming  door 
brought  Win  to  himself  and  he  slowly 
rose  to  his  feet.  The  full  sense  of  his  false 
position  now  dawned  clearly  upon 
him.  Here  he  was  in  a  strange  city, 
without  a  friend,  a  big  hotel  bill  staring 
him  in  the  face  and  only  a  dollar  and  a 
half  to  his  name. 

"And  I'll  not  take  his  old  dollar  if  I 
starve!"  he  exclaimed  as  he  slowly  left 
the  room  and  wandered  aimlessly  out 
on  to  the  street. 

The  fresh  air  revived  him  a  little  and 

127 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

after  he  had  walked  around  a  few 
minutes  he  felt  he  must  have  some- 
thing to  eat.  He  saw  a  restaurant  and 
went  in,  by  force  of  habit  putting  his 
hand  in  his  pocket  for  the  fifty  cents 
he  thought  was  there;  but  it  was  miss- 
ing. 

'I'm  sure  I  had  it,"  he  said  to  him- 
self as  he  stopped  and  began  to  feel 
in  his  other  pockets.  "I  felt  it  before 
I  began  to  dress." 

He  thrust  his  hand  into  every  pocket, 
but  his  search  was  vain.  Then  he 
remembered  that  he  heard  something 
drop  while  he  was  dressing  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  it  must  have  been  the 
coin. 

"I'll  go  back  to  the  hotel  and  get  it," 
he  said  to  himself  as  he  turned.  Then 
he  suddenly  stopped.  "If  I  do  they 
may  ask  me  for  my  hotel  bill  and  I 
can't  pay  it,"  was  his  second  thought. 

He  failed  to  consider  that  he  was  no 
more  likely  to  be  asked  for  his  bill  now 
than  he  had  been  before;  but  his  guilty 
conscience  made  him  fearful  of  every- 

128 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

thing,  and  he  turned  and  walked  in 
the  opposite  direction,  his  head  seem- 
ing as  though  it  would  burst  at  every 
step. 

"I  must  get  a  job,"  was  the  thought 
uppermost  in  his  mind;  but  where? 
What  could  he  do? 

Another  restaurant  across  the  way 
suggested  to  him  that  he  might  wait 
on  the  table  and  he  went  across  and 
entered.  At  least  he  might  earn  some- 
thing to  eat. 

In  response  to  his  request  for  work 
the  proprietor  asked: 

"Where  you  been  working?" 

"I  never  worked  anywhere,"  ex- 
plained Win. 

"What!"  exclaimed  the  proprietor. 
"Want  a  job  as  a  waiter  and  never  had 
any  experience.  Not  here." 

Out  again  into  the  street  he  came, 
the  odor  of  the  cooking  food  causing 
him  to  realize  his  hunger  more  than 
ever,  and  the  refusal  rankling  in  his 
mind. 

During  the  next  three  or  four  hours 

129 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

he  tried  many  places,  but  the  reply  was 
always  the  same  —  that  is  in  places 
where  they  gave  him  any  encourage- 
ment whatever  —  "We  want  only  ex- 
perienced help." 

"How  do  they  expect  a  fellow  to  get 
experience  unless  he  can  first  get  a 
job?"  he  thought. 

The  query  was  not  original  with  Win, 
but  it  was  none  the  less  puzzling. 

So  he  struggled  on  from  place  to 
place,  hardly  knowing  whither,  and 
becoming  each  hour  more  oppressed 
with  discouragement,  hunger  and  the 
heat.  At  last,  exhausted  with  his  efforts 
and  the  unusual  strain  upon  his  physical 
resources,  and  with  no  moral  courage 
to  support  him,  he  sank  fainting  on  the 
sidewalk  in  front  of  the  Morning  Sun 
office. 

A  couple  of  reporters  just  coming  to 
their  work  saw  him  fall  and  hastened 
to  his  assistance. 

"Sun  stroke!"  said  one.  "Summon 
the  ambulance!" 

In  almost  less  time  than  it  takes  to 

130 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

tell  it,  Win  was  being  whirled  to  the 
emergency  hospital,  where  his  condi- 
tion was  declared,  by  the  physician  in 
charge,  to  be  most  serious — as  indeed 
it  was.  More  serious  than  the  physi- 
cian knew;  for  it  was  the  direct  result 
of  violating  not  only  human  laws,  but 
the  law  of  divine  Love,  the  law  of  good. 

It  was  not  until  late  that  evening, 
when  one  of  the  reporters  who  had  run 
to  his  assistance  dropped  in  at  the 
hospital  to  learn  how  he  was,  that  any 
clue  was  found  that  might  lead  to  ''JVin's 
identity.  He  had  few  correspondents 
and  therefore  had  no  letters  in  his  poc- 
ket, nor  anything  giving  his  name  or 
address;  but  in  going  carefully  through 
his  clothing  for  some  information  that 
would  enable  him  to  make  his  story 
complete,  the  reporter  found,  tucked 
way  down  in  Win's  vest  pocket,  the  card 
Maude  Ray  had  given  him  the  night 
before. 

"Why,"     exclaimed     the     reporter, 
"here's  Maude  Ray's  card!" 

"  Who's  Maude  Ray  ?"asked  the  nurse. 

131 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"She's  that  girl  out  at  Bayside  who's 
been  scoring  such  a  success  in  Robin 
Hood.  She's  the  understudy  for  Em- 
ma Cabbott,  and  when  Miss  Cabbott 
was  called  home  last  week,  she  went 
on  and  made  a  tremendous  hit.  I'll 
hustle  right  out  and  see  what  she  knows 
about  him." 

Little  did  Maude  Ray  think,  when, 
in  the  goodness  of  her  heart,  she  gave 
Win  King  her  card,  what  an  important 
event  in  her  life  it  would  prove  to  be. 


132 


CHAPTER  ELEVEN 

It  was  after  8  o'clock  when  Del 
Henderson  arrived  in  Baltimore  that 
night.  He  had  a  definite  idea  of  what 
he  was  going  to  do  and  went  at  once 
to  the  leading  commercial  hotel  in  the 
city.  As  he  surmised,  he  found  Win 
and  Bert  registered  there,  but  neither 
of  them  was  in. 

"Mr.  Jones  was  here  a  short  time 
ago,"  explained  the  clerk,  "but  I 
haven't  see  Mr.  Bang  since  he  went  out 
this  morning.  I  presume  they  will  be 
in  shortly." 

Del  strolled  into  the  reading  room, 
thinking  that  perhaps  one  or  the  other  of 
them  might  be  there,  but  not  finding 
them  returned  to  the  office  and  took  a 
seat  where  he  could  watch  for  their 
arrival. 

He  had  not  been  there  many  minutes 
when  Bert  entered  accompanied  by 

133 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Mr.  Ford.  The  latter  being  unknown 
to  Del,  he  did  not  wish  to  interrupt 
their  conversation,  but  he  arose  and 
approached  them  in  time  to  hear  Ford 
say  as  he  was  leaving: 

"All  right,  then;  I'll  meet  you  there 
at  eleven.  ' 

As  Bert  turned  to  go  back  to  the 
desk,  he  came  face  to  face  with  Del. 
For  a  minute  he  was  speechless  with 
surprise.  Then,  as  he  saw  the  cool  and 
determined  look  in  DePs  eyes  and  re- 
called his  shabby  treatment  of  Win,  the 
blood  left  his  cheeks;  but  quickly  re- 
gaining his  composure  and  assuming  a 
cordiality  he  did  not  feel  he  exclaimed : 

"Why,  hello,  Henderson!  Where 
did  you  come  from  ?" 

"Sharon,"  replied  Del  quietly. 
"Where's  Win?" 

"Isn't  he  in  his  room?"  said  Bert 
evasively,  while  the  tell-tale  flush 
that  mounted  to  his  temples  gave  proof 
that  he  knew  otherwise. 

"Don't  you  know  that  he  isn't?" 
asked  Del. 

134 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  don't  know  anything  about  him," 
replied  Bert  with  an  attempt  at  in- 
difference. "He  started  out  to  look  for 
a  job  this  morning  and  I  haven't  seen 
him  since.  I'm  here  on  business  and 
can't  be  looking  after  other  people's 
affairs." 

"I  thought  you  were  a  friend  of 
Win." 

"So  I  am,"  declared  Bert,  "but  he's 
big  enough  to  look  after  himself. 
Besides,  he  said  something  about  going 
home." 

"Going  home?"  queried  Del. 

"Yes;  said  he  was  sick  and  wanted 
me  to  give  him  money  to  go  back 
home." 

"Did  you  give  it  to  him?" 

Again  Bert's  face  flushed. 

"No;  but  I  was  going  to  if  he  didn't 
find  a  job  today,"  he  added  hastily. 

Del  gave  Bert  a  look  that  made  nim 
feel  small  even  in  his  own  estimation 
as  he  said  slowly: 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me  that  know- 
ing Win  to  be  sick  and  broke,  you  are 

135 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

not  enough  of  a  friend  to  give  him  a 
helping  hand,  or  even  to  take  the 
trouble  to  find  out  where  he  is  ?" 

Bert  leaned  against  a  post,  while  his 
fingers  toyed  nervously  with  a  cigarette 
he  nad  forgotten  to  smoke. 

"Oh,  he'll  turn  up  all  right,"  he 
finally  managed  to  say.  "He  may 
have  gone  out  to  the  garden,  expecting 
to  meet  me  there." 

"What  garden?" 

"Bayside.  We  had  a  great  time 
there  last  night.  I'm  going  out  again. 
You'd  better  come  along.  He  might  be 
there  ?" 

"Do  you  honestly  think  so?"  asked 
Del  looking  Bert  squarely  in  the  eye. 

"He  might  be,"  declared  Bert,  his 
eyes  falling  under  Del's  steady  gaze. 

"But  you  don't  really  think  so;  do 
you?" 

"Well,  we  did  have  a  little  trouble 
last  night;  but  the  girls  would  all  be 
glad  to  see  him.  You'd  better  come. 
There's  p  enty  of  fun." 

"No,  thank  you,"  replied  Del  em- 

136 


"It's  very  plain  to  me,  Jones,  that  you  and  I  are 
not  in  the  same  class!" 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

phatically.  "I  didn't  come  here  for 
fun.  I've  something  else  to  do!" 

"You're  too  good  to  go  to  a  summer 
garden,  I  suppose,"  sneered  Bert. 

"No,  not  for  the  legitimate  recrea- 
tion a  summer  garden  offers;  but  I 
hope  I  am  too  good  to  go  for  the  pur- 
pose you  and  Win  went  for  last  night." 

"And  what  did  we  go  for?" 

"You  know,"  replied  Del. 

"  Just  to  have  a  little  fun,"  exclaimed 
Bert.  "  Was  it  my  fault  if  Win  made  a 
fool  of  himself." 

"It's  not  for  me  to  judge,"  replied 
Del  earnestly.  "But  do  you  think  he'd 
have  gone  and  made  a  fool  of  himself, 
as  you  put  it,  if  it  had  not  been  for 
you  ?" 

"Well  I  don't  care  what  he  does!" 
exclaimed  Bert  angrily.  "He's  noth- 
ing but  a  great  big  baby,  anyway!" 

"All  the  more  reason  why  those  who 
claim  to  be  his  friends  should  help 
him,"  said  Del.  "It's  very  plain  to  me, 
Jones,  that  you  and  I  are  not  in  the 
same  class.  Good  evening!" 

137 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Leaving  Bert  alone  with  his  thoughts 
and  with  a  very  uncomfortable  sense  of 
having  done  a  mean  and  contemptible 
act,  Del  walked  over  to  the  desk  where 
he  engaged  the  clerk  in  conversation. 
Telling  him  that  Win  was  his  cousin, 
he  finally  drew  out  of  him  the  condi- 
tion in  which  Win  came  back  to  the 
hotel  the  previous  evening,  together 
with  the  further  statement  that  he 
appeared  not  to  have  entirely  recovered 
when  he  left  his  key  at  the  desk  that 
morning. 

"  He  didn't  say  where  he  was  going  ?" 
queried  Del. 

"No;  just  handed  in  his  key  and 
walked  out." 

For  several  minutes  Del  remained 
quietly  thinking  over  the  situation  and 
trying  at  the  same  time  to  realize  that 
there  was  but  one  way  to  help  his 
cousin  and  that  he  would  be  shown 
that  way.  Then  he  turned  and  walked 
slowly  out  of  the  hotel. 

Emerging  upon  the  street,  he  found 
himself  undecided  as  to  the  next  step 

138 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

to  be  taken.  He  did  not  want  the 
publicity  that  would  come  through 
seeking  the  aid  of  the  police,  and  yet, 
because  it  was  the  most  common  plan, 
he  decided  it  might  be  the  best  way. 
Just  at  this  juncture,  however,  he  re- 
called Bert's  suggestion  about  the  sum- 
mer garden. 

"Being  a  stranger  and  with  nothing 
to  do,  it  is  just  possible  that  Win  might 
return  to  the  only  place  he  knows,"  he 
thought.  "I'll  take  a  chance, anyway; 
and  I  always  have  the  police  as  a  last 
resort." 

Making  some  enquiries  as  to  direc- 
tion, he  boarded  a  car  and  took  his 
way  to  the  garden.  When  he  arrived 
it  was  almost  ten  o'clock  and  the  place 
was  crowded.  All  the  attractions  were 
doing  a  rushing  business  and  after  walk- 
ing about  for  a  few  minutes  Del  made 
up  his  mind  that  the  most  likely  way 
of  finding  Win,  if  by  any  chance  he 
might  be  there,  was  to  remain  in  one 
spot  and  watch  the  passing  throng.  He 
accordingly  seated  himself  at  a  table 

139 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

near  one  of  the  principal  walks  and, 
ordering  a  sandwich  and  a  lemonade, 
proceeded  to  leisurely  eat  this  light 
luncheon  while  he  kept  his  eyes  on  the 
moving  crowd. 

He  had  not  been  seated  many  min- 
utes when  his  attention  was  attracted 
to  a  voung  fellow  who  hastily  approach- 
ed the  box  office  and  at  once  became 
earnestly  engaged  in  conversation  with 
the  ticket  seller.  After  a  moment  an 
usher  was  summoned  and  sent  with 
some  sort  of  a  message,  while  the 
young  fellow  strolled  over  and  took  a 
seat  at  Del's  table. 

In  the  course  of  five  minutes  the 
usher  returned. 

"Miss  Ray  will  see  you  on  the  stage 
immediately  after  the  performance," 
he  said  to  the  young  man. 

"How  long  will  that  be?"  looking  at 
his  watch. 

"About  twenty  minutes." 

"All  right,  I'll  be  there." 

Then    turning   to  Del  as  the  usher 

140 


left:  "These  singers  are  mighty  indepen- 
dent." 

"Perhaps  they  have  to  be,"  ventured 
Del. 

"Oh,  no,  they  don't;  but  I  guess  she's 
all  right.  I  reckon  she's  got  to  do  as 
she's  told  and  old  Bob,"  naming  the 
stage  manager,  "is  mighty  strict.  But 
this  is  an  important  matter." 

"Yes?"  replied  Del  not  knowing 
what  else  to  say. 

"Yes!     Looks  like  a  good  story,  too." 

At  the  word  'story'  a  sudden  idea 
presented  itself  to  Del  and  he  exclaimed 
interrogatively : 

;<  You're  a  newspaper  man?" 

The  young  man  laughed.  "I'm 
Eaton  of  the  Sun  —  you  must  under- 
stand the  vernacular?" 

"I've  done  a  little  newspaper  work," 
explained  Del,  "and  it  just  occurs  to 
me  that  you  may  be  able  to  help  me. 
I'm  on  a  story  myself." 

"Yes,  who  for?" 

"Just  for  myself.  I  am  a  stranger 
in  Baltimore. —  I'm  looking  for  my 

141 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

cousin  who  is  also  a  stranger  here. 
He  left  his  hotel  early  this  morning 
and  no  one  has  seen  or  heard  of  him 
since." 

"So?"  exclaimed  Eaton  with  much 
interest.  "How  old  a  man?" 

"Hardly  a  man  at  all,"  replied  Del. 
"He's  only  nineteen.  I  learned  he  was 
out  here  last  night  and  I  didn't  know 
but  he  might  have  come  out  again." 

"Like  enough.  What  kind  of  a 
looking  chap  was  he?" 

"Oh,  just  ordinary.  Wore  a  light 
gray  suit  and  a  straw  hat." 

*  Real  black  hair?"  asked  Eaton 
suddenly. 

"Yes." 

"By  Jove,"  leaning  forward,  "it  may 
be  the  same  chap."  And  he  proceeded 
to  relate  the  finding  of  a  youth  on  the 
sidewalk  and  his  removal  to  the  hospi- 
tal. 

"That's  the  story  I  want  to  see  Miss 
Ray  about,"  he  continued.  "I  found 
her  card  in  his  pocket." 


Del  had  listened  to  the  recital  of  the 
story  with  great  interest. 

"It  sounds  as  though  it  might  be 
Win,"  he  said.  "The  card  is  the  only 
thing  that  makes  me  think  it  may  not 
be." 

"Didn't  you  say  he  was  out  here  last 
night?"  asked  Eaton. 

"Yes,  but  I  don't  see  how  he  could 
possibly  have  met  any  of  the  com- 
pany." 

"You  can't  tell."  Then  looking  at 
his  watch,  "But  she'll  be  visible  in 
about  five  minutes.  Come  on  back 
with  me?" 

Eaton  leading  the  way,  the  two  young 
men  walked  around  to  the  stage  en- 
trance where,  upon  Eaton's  explana- 
tion, they  were  quickly  admitted.  The 
curtain  had  just  fallen  and  the  sing- 
ers were  trooping  noisily  to  their 
dressing  rooms,  laughing  and  joking  as 
they  hurried  along.  The  boys  were  at 
once  espied  by  Maude  who  hastened  to 
greet  them. 

"I  am  so  sorry  to  have  kept  you 

143 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

waiting,"  she  said,  "but  I  was  just 
going  on  and  hadn't  a  moment  until 
now.  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?" 

As  briefly  as  possible  Eaton  told  her 
his  story  and  asked  if  she  could  identify 
the  card. 

"I'm  sure  it  must  be  the  one  I  gave 
to  a  young  fellow  last  night.  I  felt  so 
sorry  for  him!"  she  exclaimed. 

"Black-haired  boy  with  a  gray 
suit?"  asked  Eaton. 

"Yes.  He  told  me  he  wished  he 
were  back  home  and  I  advised  him  to 

go  the  first  thing  this  morning.  That's 
ow  I  came  to  give  him  my  card.  I 
told  him  to  write  me." 

"Did  you  learn  his  name  ?"  asked  Del. 

'They  called  him  Win,  I  think." 

"It  must  be  my  cousin!" 

"Your  cousin?  Oh,  I'm  so  sorry! 
Isn't  there  something  I  can  do  for  him  ?" 

"I  don't  know,"  replied  Del,  "I 
trust  not.  I  shall  go  right  down  and 
see  him  —  that  is,"  turning  to  Eaton, 
"if  you  think  they'll  let  me  see  him 
tonight." 

144 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Sure!  I  can  fix  it  for  you."  Then 
to  Maude:  "We  are  certainly  much 
obliged  to  you." 

"I'm  so  glad  I  could  be  of  any  assis- 
tance." After  a  brief  pause:  "If  you'll 
let  me,  I  should  like  to  go  to  the  hospi- 
tal with  you." 

Del  made  no  reply,  but  Eaton,  think- 
ing that  such  a  visit  would  add  a  feature 
to  his  story,  replied  that  he  would  be 
pleased  to  have  her  accompany  them. 

In  less  time  than  seemed  possible, 
Maude  was  ready  and  the  trio  left  the 
theater.  Almost  the  first  persons  they 
encountered  as  they  approached  the 
pavilion  on  their  way  to  the  cars  were 
Bert  and  Mr.  Ford.  The  latter  tipped 
his  hat  as  they  stepped  aside  for  the 
trio  to  pass,  while  IJert  in  angry  sur- 
prise exclaimed: 

"Why,  hello,  Henderson!  I  thought 
you  were  too  good  to  come  to  such  a 
place  for  such  a  purpose." 

"I  am  never  too  good  to  go  any- 
where," replied  Del,  "where  I  can  help 
to  right  a  wrong!" 

145 


CHAPTER  TWELVE 

Chaperoned  by  Eaton,  Del  and 
Maude  had  no  difficulty  in  gaining 
admission  to  the  hospital,  late  as  it 
was,  and  they  were  quickly  shown  to 
the  ward  in  which  Win  had  been 
placed.  They  found  him  on  a  cot 
with  a  nurse  in  attendance,  and  still 
unconscious. 

"It's  Win!"  said  Del  as  soon  as  he 
caught  sight  of  him. 

"Poor  boy!"  exclaimed  Maude  sym- 
pathetically. "But  I'm  sure  there  is 
nothing  to  worry  about.  It's  all  error." 

Del  gave  her  a  hasty  glance  to  see  if 
he  had  heard  aright.  Perceiving  she 
had  but  spoken  what  was  in  her  mind 
he  replied: 

"You  are  right,  and  we  must  know 
it  has  no  power  to  harm  any  child  of 
God,  for  Truth  is  omnipotent.  We  must 
have  him  out  of  here  just  as  soon  as 
possible." 

146 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Which  won't  be  for  some  days,  I'm 
thinking,"  said  Eaton. 

"Oh,  not  so  long  as  that,"  replied 
Del.  "Of  course  we  should  not  expect 
an  order  for  his  dismissal  tonight,  even 
though  he  were  to  sit  up  and  ask  it; 
but  tomorrow  morning,  sure!" 

Maude  heard  Del's  words  with  even 
more  surprise  than  he  had  shown  at 
hers,  for  she  was  not  used  to  hearing 
young  men  speak  thus.  When  he 
announced,  "tomorrow  morning,  sure," 
she  asked: 

"Are  you  really  as  sure  as  that?" 

"I  haven't  a  doubt  of  it."  Then  to 
Eaton:  "Do  you  think  I  could  get 
permission  to  stay  with  my  cousin  a 
while.  I  should  like  to  be  with  him 
when  he  regains  consciousness." 

Eaton  turned  to  the  nurse.  "How 
about  it?"  he  asked. 

"It's  a  little  unusual,  Mr.  Eaton; 
but  if  you  wish  it  I  don't  think  there 
will  be  any  trouble.  Dr.  Broome  thinks 
you're  all  right." 

"Thanks,"  said  Eaton.  Then  to  Del. 

147 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

•'You  just  stay  here  and  I'll  speak  to  Doc 
as  I  go  out.  If  it  isn't  all  right  he'll  send 
some  one  after  you." 

"And  how  will  Miss  Ray  get  home  ?" 
asked  Del. 

"Don't  think  about  me  at  all,"  said 
Maude  hastily.  "I'm  used  to  going 
about  alone." 

Then  to  Del  as  she  and  Eaton  started 
to  leave:  ';<  You'll  come  and  see  me 
before  you  return  to  —  wherever  you 
do  return  to,"  she  finished  with  a 
laugh.  ;'You  must  remember  I  don't 
even  know  your  name,  much  less  your 
home." 

"Sure,"  laughed  Del  softly.  "I 
hadn't  thought.  My  name's  Hender- 
son, and  my  cousin  is  Winfield  King 
from  Sharon." 

"Sharon?"  exclaimed  Maude.  "Then 
surely  you  must  come  and  see  me  in  the 
morning.  There  are  many  things  I 
want  to  talk  to  you  about,"  and  giving 
him  her  hand  she  followed  Eaton  out 
of  the  ward. 

Left    alone    with    his    cousin,    Del 

148 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

seated  himself  on  a  stool  beside  the  cot 
and,  after  allowing  his  gaze  to  wander 
about  the  ward  For  a  few  moments, 
bowed  his  head  upon  his  hand,  his 
elbow  upon  his  knee,  and  for  a  long 
time  sat  silently,  thinking. 

The  place  was  absolutely  quiet.  The 
dim  light  from  the  night  lamps  seemed 
but  to  add  to  the  quietude.  The  man 
in  the  cot  next  to  Win's,  aroused  by  the 
entrance  of  the  party,  watched  Del  as 
he  thus  sat  for  a  few  minutes  and  then 
gently  dropped  off  to  sleep.  Still  the 
minutes  passed  and  Del  did  not  move 
until  he  was  aroused  by  a  weak  voice 
exclaiming : 

"Mother!     Mother!" 

Del  hastily  raised  his  head  and 
leaning  over  the  cot  asked:  "What  is 
it,  Win?" 

For  a  moment  Win  looked  at  him  in 
a  bewildered  manner.  "Where  am 
I?"  he  asked. 

"In  good  hands,"  replied  Del.  "You 
know  me,  don't  you  ?" 

"Of    course."    His    voice  becoming 

149 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

stronger,  "It's  Del.    But  where  am  I  ?' 

"You're  in  the  hospital  in  Baltimore; 
but  we'll  have  you  out  in  the  morning. 
Now  go  to  sleep." 

Attracted  by  the  voices,  the  nurse 
came  quickly  down  from  the  upper  end 
of  the  ward. 

"Oh,  he's  conscious,"  she  said. 

"Yes,"  replied  Del.  "He'll  be  all 
right  now  and  I  think  I'll  leave  him  in 
your  care.  I'm  sure  he'll  be  able  to 
leave  in  the  morning." 

Then  to  Win.  "  Just  you  go  to  sleep 
and  I'll  be  here  as  soon  as  you've  had 
your  breakfast." 

Win  put  out  his  hand. 

"What  is  it?"  asked  Del  leaning 
over  him. 

"Mother!  Father!  They're  all  right, 
are  they?" 

"Never  better." 

"And,  Del;  I  owe  a  bill  at  the  hotel. 
Will  you  take  care  of  it  for  me  ?  And 
then  —  I  want  to  go  home." 

"I'll  fix  everything,"  said  Del  pleased 

150 


to  note  Win's  changed  thought.  "Now 
go  to  sleep." 

The  tired  look  on  the  boy's  face 
faded  away,  the  eyes  gently  closed, 
the  breathing  became  long  and  deep 
and  Win  slept  —  as  restfully  as  though 
in  his  own  little  room  in  Sharon,  soothed 
by  the  gentle,  rose-laden  southern 
breeze. 

Bright  and  early  the  next  morning 
Del  was  up  and  busy.  Before  he  went 
to  bed  the  previous  night  he  had  wired 
Ruth  that  all  was  well  and  asked  her  to 
tell  Win's  parents;  but  after  breakfast 
he  sat  down  and  wrote  his  uncle  and 
aunt  telling  them  that  Win  was  all  right 
and  that  they  would  be  home  in  two 
or  three  days.  Then  he  took  his  way 
to  the  hospital  where  he  found  his 
cousin  anxiously  awaiting  his  arrival. 

The  physician  in  charge  made  his 
visit  soon  after  and  finding  Win  so 
greatly  improved  at  once  ordered  his 
dismissal.  The  young  men  quickly 
left  the  place,  entered  a  waiting  cab 
and  were  driven  to  their  hotel. 

151 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

:<  You'll  want  to  go  to  the  room  and 
have  a  good  bath,"  said  Del,  "and  then 
we'll  look  about  town  a  bit." 

Win  said  little  as  they  drove  along, 
but  when  he  entered  the  room  and  saw 
the  preparation  which  Del  had  made 
for  his  return  he  burst  into  tears. 

"I  don't  deserve  it,"  he  exclaimed 
as  he  saw  that  Del  had  been  out  and 
purchased  him  a  complete  change  of 
linen  and  had  made  the  room  bright 
with  flowers.  "I  ought  to  be  thrashed 
instead." 

"Now  that's  all  right,"  replied  Del. 
"  You  just  get  into  the  tub  while  I  send 
your  clothes  out  and  have  them 
pressed." 

"Have  you  seen  Bert?" 

"Not  since  last  night,"  replied  Del. 
"But  I  notice  he  has  paid  his  bill  and 
left  the  hotel.  Perhaps  his  conscience 
hurt  him.  I  told  the  clerk  as  little  as 
possible  about  you  and  that  I  would 
occupy  your  room  with  you." 

"Perhaps  Bert  didn't  do  just  as  he 
might  have  done,"  said  Win,  "but  I 

152 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


blame  no  one  but  myself.  When  shall 
we  go  home?" 

"Oh,  whenever  we  get  ready.  There's 
no  hurry.  We  might  just  as  well  have 
a  good  time  and  see  the  town  while 
we're  here.  Baltimore's  a  live  place." 

"But  I  have  no  money." 

Del  took  out  his  purse. 

"Do  you  owe  Bert  anything?"  he 
asked. 

"Only  my  railroad  fare." 

"Here,"  counting  out  the  money, 
"are  twenty-five  dollars:  but  remember, 
Win,  it  is  only  a  loan.  It  would  not 
be  right  for  me  to  give  it  to  you,  nor 
for  me  to  pay  your  expenses  while  you 
are  here;  but  this  will  enable  you  to 
pay  Bert  what  you  owe  him  and  you 
will  soon  be  able  to  pay  me.  I  shall 
never  ask  you  for  it,  but  I  shall  expect 
you  to  pay  it  just  the  same.  Now  get 
your  bath.  We  have  a  call  to  make." 

"A  call?" 

'Yes,  we  must  go  and  thank  Maude 
Ray  for  what  she  has  done." 

"I'd  be  ashamed  to  see  her,  Del." 

153 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

*  You'd  be  ashamed  all  your  life  if 
you  didn't  let  her  see  you  when  you 
are  yourself." 

Win  raised  no  further  objection  and 
shortly  before  noon  the  boys  called  at 
the  address  Maude  had  given  them. 

"I  was  expecting  you,"  she  said  to 
Del,  "but  I  wasn't  so  sure  about  your 
cousin." 

"  'O  ye  of  little  faith,'  "  laughed  Del, 
"and  yet  I  am  sure  you  had  hope." 

"And  I'm  afraid  that's  about  all  I 
did  have,"  she  replied,  "the  idea  is 
so  new  to  me." 

Win  looked  from  one  to  the  other  of 
the  speakers  in  a  puzzled  manner. 

"I  am  afraid  I  do  not  know  what 
you  two  are  talking  about,"  he  said. 

"About  your  case,"  laughed  Del. 
"Miss  Ray  was  afraid  you  would  not 
be  well  enough  to  come  out  here  this 
morning." 

"Was  I  as  sick  as  that?" 

"Of  course  you  were  not,  she  was 
just  afraid  —  mat's  all  —  the  same  as 
you  were,  because  neither  of  you  knew 

154" 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

the  truth.  I  knew  the  truth,  and 
when  you  know  the  truth  about  any- 
thing there's  nothing  to  fear,  because 
all  is  good." 

"And  the  other  thought  about  it?" 
suggested  Maude. 

'Is  simply  error  and  it  isn't  so  at  all," 
laughed  Del.  "It's  just  as  simple  as 
twice  two  are  four." 

"It's  what  you  meant  the  other 
night?"  said  Win,  "when  you  told  us 
down  at  Sharon  that  there  was  only 
one  way  to  get  anywhere  and  that  was 
the  right  way.  The  wrong  way  is  no 
way  at  all." 

"Exactly,"  replied  Del. 

"Speaking  of  Sharon,"  said  Maude 
changing  the  subject,  "did  either  of  you 
ever  hear  of  a  Mrs.  Rebecca  Babcock  ?" 

"Did  we  ever?"  exclaimed  Win. 
"Why  everybody  knows  Aunt  Becky." 

"Is  she  your  aunt?"  asked  Maude 
with  the  greatest  interest. 

"Oh,  no,"  said  Win,  "she  isn't  any- 
body's aunt;  but  everyone  calls  her 
that.  She  hasn't  anybody." 

155 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Hasn't  anybody?"  asked  Maude. 
"Why,  is  she  all  alone?" 

"Except  Mandy,"  ventured  Del, 
"and  Ruth  Jackson  —  and  now,  poor 
soul,  a  stonyhearted  creditor  wants  to 
sell  her  little  place  over  her  head  and 
send  her  to  the  poor-house." 

"The poor-house, "exclaimed  Maude. 
"Oh,  you  don't  mean  it!  Why  she's — 
she's  my  grandmother!"  and  Maude 
buried  her  face  in  her  handkerchief 
and  burst  into  tears. 

For  several  moments  the  young  men 
were  too  surprised  to  speak  and  simply 
looked  at  each  other  in  astonishment, 
while  Maude  sat  with  her  head  bowed 
in  her  hands. 

Gathering  his  scattered  ideas  after  a 
bit,  Del  said  good-naturedly: 

"Well,  now,  really  I  don't  see  any 
reason  for  crying  just  because  you've 
found  your  grandmother.  She  isn't  a 
bit  worse  off  than  she  has  been,  and 
you  never  cried  about  her  before,  did 
you?" 

"But  it  never  came  to  me  in  this 

156 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

way  before,"  said  Maude  drying  her 
eyes. 

"Of  course  it  didn't,"  replied  Del, 
"and  you  think  you're  crying  because 
she  will  have  to  go  to  the  poor-house." 

"I  know  I  am,"  replied  Maude; 
"and  because  she  is  all  alone." 

"That  isn't  it  at  all,"  declared  Del; 
"in  the  first  place,  because  she  prob- 
ably won't  have  to  go  to  the  poor-house 
ana,  in  the  second,  because  she's  not 
alone  as  long  as  Sharon  is  Sharon. 
You're  simply  crying  because  you're 
sorry  for  yourself." 

Maude  looked  at  him  half  indig- 
nantly as  she  replied: 

"Then  you  don't  think  I'm  sorry 
for  her?" 

"If  you  were,  you'd  have  made  some 
effort  to  see  her  or  to  do  something  for 
her  before  this." 

Maude's  face  flushed  and  Win,  think- 
ing Del  a  little  severe,  was  about  to 
make  some  excuse  for  her,  but  the  girl 
gave  him  no  opportunity. 

"You  are  right,"  she  said.     "I  knew 

15?' 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

she  was  poor,  and  I  was  ashamed  of 
her,  and  that  without  even  a  human 
excuse  —  for  I  am  only  a  chorus  girl 
and  poor,  too. 

"A  few  months  ago,  however,  a 
friend  of  mine  wanted  me  to  go  to 
Sunday  school  with  her  and  I  did.  It 
was  different  from  any  Sunday  school 
I  ever  attended  and  I  became  interested 
in  the  Bible.  Since  then  I  have  dis- 
covered my  wrong  thought  and  fully 
made  up  my  mind  that  during  my 
vacation  I  would  go  to  Sharon  and  see 
her.  After  what  you  have  told  me,  I 
am  more  anxious  than  ever  to  see  her. 
While  I  cannot  pay  her  debts,  I  may 
be  able  to  help  her.  ' 

"There  is  no  doubt  that  you  can," 
said  Del.  "Now  that  you  have  found 
the  right  thing  to  do,  there  is  nothing 
else  that  you  can  do." 

"How  do  you  know  that  it  is  the 
right  thing  to  do  ?"  asked  Win,  who  had 
been  an  interested  listener. 

"Because,"  replied  Del,  "It's  doing 
158 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

to  others  as  you  would  that  others 
should  do  to  you." 

"And  you  say  there  is  no  other  way  ?" 
asked  Win. 

"Absolutely  none,"  replied  Del. 

"How  about  the  way  Bert  treated  me  ?" 

"It  is  like  the  way  that  led  into  that 
gravel  pit  —  no  road  at  all.  Bert  will 
find  it  out  some  day  and  will  have  his 
life  journey  to  travel  over  again.  Don't 
you  think  I'm  right,  Miss  Ray?" 

"That  is  the  way  I  understand  it." 

"I've  heard  the  Golden  Rule  preached 
all  my  life,"  said  Win,  "but  Delis  the 
only  person  I  ever  knew,  who  seemed  to 
practice  it.  I  don't  see  yet  how  he  can." 

"Because  to  me,"  replied  Del,  "it  is 
the  only  rule  of  life." 

"I  wish  I  could  see  it  in  that  light." 

"You  very  soon  would  if  you  would 
go  to  our  Sunday  school  a  while,"  said 
Maude. 

"What  Sunday  school  is  that?" 
asked  Win. 

"The  Christian  Science.  You  ought 
to  try  it." 

159 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  will,  the  first  chance  I  get;  but 
when  are  you  going  to  Sharon?" 

"Yes,"  said  Del,  "why  can't  you  go 
down  with  us?" 

"I  should  like  to,  but  my  engage- 
ment doesn't  close  until  tomorrow 
night." 

"Oh,  we're  in  no  hurry;  we  can  wait 
until  Monday  just  as  well  as  not." 

"But  I  cannot  think  of  making  you 
all  of  that  trouble  —  " 

"No  trouble  at  all,  and  besides  Win 
and  I  want  to  see  Baltimore." 

"And  you  can  go  to  church  with  me 
Sunday." 

"Sure!  And  we  want  to  make  an 
excursion  on  the  bay,  don't  we,  Win  ?" 

"If  you  say  so,  but  —  " 

"Oh,  never  mind  the  expense  on  an 
occasion  like  this.  It's  only  once  in  a 
life -time  that  one  can  restore  a  long 
lost  granddaughter  —  especially  such 
a  charming  one  as  this." 

Del  broke  into  a  merry  laugh,  in 
which  the  others  joined. 

16Q 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"It  certainly  will  be  the  event  of  my 
life!"  exclaimed  Maude. 

"And  ours,  too,  I  imagine,"  said 
Del;  "so  we'll  consider  it  settled. 
We'll  see  you  again  tomorrow  and  per- 
fect our  arrangements." 

For  some  moments  after  leaving  the 
house  the  boys  walked  in  silence,  until 
Win  finally  exclaimed: 

"I  don't  wonder  everybody  likes  you, 
Del.  You  certainly  are  a  good  fellow 

—  the    real    thing  —  and    I'm    mighty 
sorry  for  the  way  I've  acted.     I  just 
begin  to  appreciate  the  fact  that  all  my 
troubles  and  discontent  are  due  to  my 
own  bad  thoughts  and  I'm  going  to  be 
different." 

"Of  course  you  are,  Win.  Just  as 
soon  as  you  discover  that  there  is  only 
one  way  to  live  and  have  a  good  time 

—  the    right    way  —  that    is    the    way 
you'll   want  to  do.     Now   let's   begin 
today  to  have  all  the  fun  we  can  along 
that  line." 

And  what  a  jolly  time  they  did  have, 
to  be  sure!  They  started  in  with  an 

161 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

excursion  on  the  bay  and  wound  up 
with  a  visit  to  the  garden  the  following 
night  to  meet  Maude  at  the  close  of  her 
engagement.  Time  and  again  Win  re- 
marked how  different  everything  seem- 
ed and  what  a  good  time  he  was  having. 

"Del  is  certainly  the  best  fellow  I 
ever  went  out  with,"  he  remarked  aside 
to  Maude  as  they  were  taking  her 
home  that  night.  "He  knows  where 
everything  is  that's  worth  seeing  and 
doesn't  worry  over  spending  a  dollar." 

Maude  smiled  sweetly  as  she  replied : 
"That's  no  news  to  me.  I  recognized 
him  as  a  good  fellow  the  first  time  I  ever 
saw  him.  It  simply  sticks  out  all  over 
him." 


162 


CHAPTER  THIRTEEN 

It  is  nearly  a  week  later  and  the 
people  of  Sharon  have  had  more  to 
talk  about  during  that  time  than  during 
any  previous  week  of  their  lives. 

In  the  first  place  it  had  become 
generally  known  that  Thomas  Denni- 
son  had  notified  Aunt  Becky  that  she 
must  vacate  her  little  cottage  at  once 
or  he  would  sell  the  place  over  her 
head.  On  top  of  this  had  come  the 
news  that  Win  King  had  run  away 
from  home  and  this  was  speedily  fol- 
lowed by  the  information  that  he  had 
been  found  in  a  hospital  in  Baltimore. 
The  later  information  came  through  a 
paper  which  Bert  mailed  to  the  post- 
master, and  which  was  read  by  as  many 
as  could  spend  that  much  time  at  the 
postoffice. 

But  the  greatest  event  of  all  was  the 
return  of  Win  and  Del  accompanied  by 

163 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

a  handsome  girl  who,  it  was  speedily 
learned,  was  Aunt  Becky's  grand- 
daughter. When  this  became  known, 
the  village  gossips  were  so  excited  that 
they  forgot  it  was  dinner-time  and  many 
a  man  in  Sharon  that  day  had  to  wait 
for  his  mid-day  meal. 

Great,  howrever,  as  was  the  surprise 
of  the  villagers,  it  was  as  nothing  com- 
pared to  the  joy  of  Aunt  Becky  herself. 

No  intimation  had  been  given  anyone 
of  Maude's  coming,  and  when  the  trio 
alighted  from  the  train  about  eleven 
o'clock,  Win  had  gone  immediately 
home  while  Del  volunteered  to  escort 
Maude  to  her  grandmother's  humble 
abode.  When  they  reached  it,  Mandy 
was  out  in  the  garden  picking  peas  for 
dinner,  and,  recognizing  Del,  did  not 
consider  it  necessary  for  her  to  cease 
work.  The  door  stood  open  and  they 
entered  without  knocking.  Aunt  Becky 
was  sitting  in  her  big  rocking-chair 
reading  her  Bible.  Her  back  was  to- 
ward mem  as  they  entered  and  she  did 
not  hear  them  until  Del  said : 

164 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Aunt  Becky,  I  have  brought  you  a 
visitor." 

"A  visitor?"  said  Aunt  Becky  turn- 
ing her  head,  "Now  who  would  want 
to  spend  their  time  visiting  an  old 
woman  like  me." 

Maude  could  contain  herself  no 
longer  and  rushing  forward  threw  her- 
self at  Aunt  Becky's  feet  exclaiming: 

"I  do,  grandmother!     I  do!" 

The  book  which  Aunt  Becky  was 
reading  fell  to  the  floor.  Taking  the 
girl's  head  between  her  trembling  hands 
she  raised  Maude's  face  so  she  could 
look  into  her  eyes,  while  Del  silently 
withdrew. 

"  Grandmother !  Grandmother !" 
repeated  Aunt  Becky  in  a  voice 
scarcely  more  than  a  whisper.  "You 
call  me  grandmother!  Is  it  true?" 

"Can  you  doubt  it?"  asked  Maude, 
tears  and  smiles  chasing  each  other  up 
and  down  her  cheeks.  "Can't  you 
see  I  am  my  mother's  daughter  ?" 

"Yes!  Yes!"  answered  Aunt  Becky, 
while  she  leaned  over  and  kissed  the 

165 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

girl  tenderly  on  her  shining  tresses, 
'Yes,  you  are  Cora's  daughter.  I  can 
see  it.  And  your  mother?" 

"I  have  no  mother,  I  am  all  alone  — 
except  you." 

They  still  sat  thus  when  Mandy 
came  in  with  the  peas.  Del  had  stop- 
ped on  his  way  up  the  hill  to  Aunt  Clara's 
and  told  her  the  news.  She  had  waited 
iust  as  long  as  she  could  before  coming 
in,  but  her  inborn  curiosity  would  allow 
her  to  wait  no  longer  and  she  entered 
with  her  apron  full  of  peas,  exclaiming : 

"  De  Lawd  be  praised !  De  Lawd  be 
praised !  De  projigul  has  returned  and 
we  mus'  kill  de  fatted  calf;  but  de  Lawd 
on'y  knows  whar  we's  gwine  ter  git  one 
onles  we  borry  it." 

For  two  days  thereafter  there  were 
great  happenings  at  Aunt  Becky's. 
Ruth  took  Maude  into  her  especial 
favor  and  Sally  became  her  fast  friend. 
Even  Kate  Blackburn,  who  had  gone 
down  with  Sally  more  out  of  curiosity 
than  anything  else,  admitted  that 
Maude  was  about  the  nicest  girl  she 

166 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

ever  knew.  As  for  Win  he  was  her 
sworn  champion. 

It  was  upon  Del,  however,  that 
Maude  leaned  most  for  advice  in  her 
new  and  trying  situation.  He  had 
taken  her  up  to  see  Aunt  Clara,  where 
she  had  undergone  a  most  rigid  scru- 
tiny by  that  excellent  lady,  who,  among 
other  things  had  asked,  in  a  manner 
quite  severe: 

"So  you  are  an  actress,  are  you  ?" 

"I'm  trying  to  be,"  was  the  some- 
what timid  response,  for  Maude  had 
never  seen  anyone  just  exactly  like 
Aunt  Clara. 

"Does  your  grandmother  approve  of 
it?"  was  the  next  question. 

Maude  laughed  a  little  rippling  laugh 
that  won  Aunt  Clara's  heart  in  spite  of 
her,  as  she  replied: 

"I  haven't  asked  her;  but  she  hasn't 
made  any  objections.  I'm  not  sure 
that  she  knows  it.  She's  just  willing 
that  I  should  be  her  granddaughter  and 
has  never  asked  anything  further." 

"And  I  don't  think  there  is  a  grand- 

167 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

mother  in  Sharon  who  would  not  be 
glad  to  accept  you  on  the  same  terms," 
said  Del;  "now  is  there,  grandma?" 
laying  his  hand  caressingly  on  Aunt 
Clara's  head. 

The  old  lady's  eyes  moistened  and 
for  a  moment  she  made  no  response. 
Then  reaching  over  and  taking  from  a 
bouquet  at  her  side  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  of  the  roses  of  Sharon,  she 
laid  it  lovingly  against  Maude's  cheek 
as  she  said: 

"It  is  a  great  thing  to  be  young  and 
handsome,  dear;  but  it  is  a  greater  to  be 
good.  Yes,  I  am  sure  any  grandmother 
in  Sharon  would  be  glad  of  such  a 
granddaughter." 

But  now  Sharon  was  having  even  a 
more  fascinating  bit  of  gossip,  for  in 
spite  of  the  fact  that  we  ought  to  love 
good  and  detest  evil,  there  are  some 
who  seem  to  enjoy  spreading  evil  re- 
ports rather  than  good  —  perhaps  be- 
cause good  is  more  natural  than  evil 
and  therefore  more  ordinary. 

At    any    rate,    Sharon    was    greatly 

168 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

interested  in  the  report  that  Thomas 
Dennison  and  his  grandson  Herbert 
had  fallen  out,  because  of  Bert's  doings 
in  Baltimore.  Not  only  had  Bert  neg- 
lected much  of  the  business  for  which 
he  made  the  trip,  but  he  had  spent 
the  money  given  him  to  pick  up  bar- 
gains, for  an  altogether  different  pur- 
pose. 

Only  the  day  previous  Win  had  met 
Bert  on  the  street.  It  was  the  first 
time  they  had  met,  as  Bert  did  not 
arrive  home  till  the  day  after  Win. 

"Here,"  said  Win  stopping  him,  "I 
want  to  pay  you  what  I  owe  you." 

"I'm  mighty  glad  to  get  it,"  said 
Bert.  "I  wish  some  of  the  rest  of  the 
fellows  would  pay  up.  I'm  just  going 
out  now  to  see  a  couple  that  owe  me  a 
lot.  I  spent  a  good  deal  more  in 
Baltimore  than  I  ought  and  I'm  afraid 
the  old  man  will  be  pretty  mad." 

Win  did  not  stop  to  discuss  it  with 
him,  but  it  was  just  as  Bert  had  pre- 
dicted. That  afternoon  his  grand- 
father called  him  into  his  office  and 

169 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

asked  for  an  account  of  the  trip  and 
an  accounting  of  the  money.  All  that 
Bert  had  left  out  of  the  two  hundred 
dollars  was  about  thirty-five  dollars 
and  five  of  that  was  what  Win  had 
just  given  him. 

"What  did  you  do  with  all  your 
money  ?"  asked  Mr.  Dennison. 

"Nothing  special.  It  costs  a  lot  to 
go  out  with  those  salesmen  —  " 

"Costs  a  lot!  Why,  boy,  you  must 
have  thrown  your  money  away." 

"I  didn't  spend  any  more  than  they 
did." 

"Nonsense!  I  have  heard  all  about 
how  you  took  young  King  with  you 
and  picked  up  this  granddaughter  of 
old  Mrs.  Babcock.  Was  that  part  of 
your  work  —  bringing  her  down  nere?" 

"Course  not.  I  just  happened  to 
meet  her  one  night.  Why,  she's  noth- 
ing but  a  chorus  girl." 

"A  chorus  girl?  So  that's  the  way 
you  spent  your  money,  was  it?"  and 
Mr.  Dennison  became  very  severe. 

"Now,  young  man,  listen  to  me!    I 

170 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

have  told  everyone  that  I  intended  tak- 
ing you  into  this  business;  but  I  have 
changed  my  mind.  A  young  man  who 
can  not  go  out  and  attend  to  it,  is  not 
fit  to  become  a  partner  in  any  business. 
You  can  consider  that  arrangement 
off." 

Bert's  heart  sank.    After  all  his  brag- 

fing,  this  was  greater  humiliation  than 
e  felt  he  could  stand.      He  was  being 
punished   for   the   very   things   which, 
from  his  early  training,  his  grandfather 
ought  to  have  expected;  but  did  not. 

At  last  Bert  managed  to  say:  "I  ex- 
pect maybe  I  have  done  wrong,  sir, 
but  if  you'll  give  me  another  chance 
I'll  do  better  next  time." 

For  some  minutes  Mr.  Dennison  said 
nothing.  At  length  he  slowly  arose 
from  his  chair  ana  put  the  money  Bert 
had  handed  him  into  the  safe.  Then, 
as  he  locked  the  cash  drawer  and  put 
the  key  in  his  pocket,  he  said: 

"So  you  want  another  chance,  do 
you?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

171 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"To  do  what  —  squander  my  money 
on  chorus  girls?" 

"  No,  sir.  To  do  anything  there  is 
to  do." 

For  a  minute  Thomas  Dennison 
made  no  reply.  Then  as  he  turned  to 
leave  the  office  he  said  slowly:  "Well, 
I  think  I'll  give  you  another  chance 
—and  this  time  there  must  be  no  mis- 
take." 


172 


Ever  since  the  day  that  Ruth  had 
mentioned  to  Sally  that  some  one  held 
a  mortgage  on  Aunt  Becky's  house 
and  had  advised  her  that  the  best 
thing  she  could  do  was  to  speak  to  her 
grandfather,  Sally  had  been  thinking 
the  matter  over.  But  for  some  reason 
the  opportunity  did  not  offer,  and  then, 
all  at  once,  came  the  startling  announce- 
ment —  that  is,  startling  to  Sally  —  that 
it  was  her  grandfather  who  held  the 
mortgage  and  who  was  about  to  send 
Aunt  Becky  to  the  poor-house. 

When  she  learned  this,  she  deter- 
mined that  she  would  speak  to  her 
grandfather  without  delay,  but  the 
rumors  about  Win  and  the  continued 
absence  of  her  brother,  which  she 
could  see  was  greatly  annoying  her 
grandfather,  again  interfered.  During 
a  visit  with  Maude  and  Ruth  at  Aunt 

173 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

Becky's,  however,  she  determined  that 
she  would  speak  to  her  grandfather  that 
very  day.  As  a  result,  when  Thomas 
Dennison  came  home  for  supper  he 
found  Sally  on  the  porch  awaiting  him. 
Without  any  preliminary  remarks  she 
plunged  immediately  into  the  middle 
of  her  subject  by  asking: 

"What  makes  you  want  to  send  Aunt 
Becky  to  the  poor-house,  grandfather  ?" 

If  a  clap  of  thunder  had  come  out  of 
the  clear  sky  above,  Mr.  Dennison 
could  not  have  been  more  surprised. 

"Why  do  I  want  to  send  Aunt  Becky 
to  the  poor-house?"  he  repeated  after 
her  to  gain  time.  "Why,  I  don't." 

"There!"  exclaimed  Sally  exultantly. 
"I  knew  you  didn't.  And  you  won't 
put  her  out  of  her  house,  will  you  ?" 

"Well,  now,  I  didn't  say  that,"  he 
replied.  "I  don't  want  to  send  her  to 
the  poor-house,  because  it  makes  no 
difference  to  me  where  she  goes;  but 
unless  she  pays  me  what  she  owes  me 
I  shall  have  to  sell  her  house  in  order 
to  get  my  money." 

174 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"But  you  don't  need  the  money,  do 
you,  grandfather?  Why  look  at  all  the 
things  you  have  and  then  look  at  the 
little  Aunt  Becky  has." 

"But  you  don't  understand,  Sally. 
She  owes  it  to  me  and  has  owed  it  for 
a  long  time.  It's  right  I  should  have 
it.  I  m  afraid  it's  a  matter  that  you 
do  not  understand." 

"Yes,  I  do,"  replied  Sally.  "But  I 
know  that  you  are  a  rich  man  and  don't 
need  the  money.  You  are  a  member 
of  the  church  and  claim  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, and  that  means  to  follow  the 
example  of  Jesus.  I  know  that  Jesus 
would  never  have  turned  Aunt  Becky 
out  of  her  home." 

Sally's  voice  was  very  earnest  and 
Thomas  Dennison  wiped  the  perspira- 
tion from  his  face. 

"It's  a  warm  day,"  he  said. 

But  Sally  was  not  to  be  diverted  by 
any  allusions  to  the  weather  and  con- 
tinued : 

"Now,  grandfather,  won't  you  just  let 
Aunt  Becky  stay  where  she  is?  It 

175 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

would  be  terrible  to  turn  her  into  the 
street,  especially  when  she  has  just 
found  her  granddaughter!" 

The  mention  of  Maude  brought  to 
Thomas  Dennison's  mind  what  Her- 
bert had  told  him  and  also  the  further 
fact  that  Herbert  had  squandered 
almost  two  hundred  dollars  of  his 
money.  This  thought  completely  over- 
shadowed any  kindlier  one  he  might 
have  had  and  he  exclaimed  angrily: 

"Then  let  her  granddaughter  take 
care  of  her.  It  will  be  much  bettter 
business  than  helping  young  men  get 
rid  of  their  money." 

Sally  could  hardly  believe  her  ears. 
"Why,  grandfather!"  she  exclaimed. 
"I'm  surprised  to  hear  you  say  such 
things.  Maude  Ray  isn't  that  kind  of 
a  girl." 

"How  do  you  know?  Isn't  she  a 
chorus  girl  ?" 

"Well,  suppose  she  is.  That's  the 
way  she  earns  her  living,  and  now  that 
she  has  found  her  grandmother  she 
will  do  all  she  can  for  her;  but  she 

176 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

hasn't  money  enough  to  pay  you  what 
Aunt  Becky  owes  you." 

"Oh,  she  hasn't?"  sarcastically. 

"No;  but  if  you  will  just  let  Aunt 
Becky  stay  in  ner  house,  Maude  will 
take  care  of  her  and  every  summer 
she  will  come  here  and  visit." 

"She  will?" 

"Yes,  sir.  Just  think  how  nice  it 
would  be." 

"I  don't  think  anything  of  the  kind, 
Sally.  I  don't  approve  of  Rebecca  Bab- 
cock's  granddaughter  and  I  forbid  you 
going  there  any  more.  If  I  had  not 
already  determined  to  foreclose  the 
mortgage,  I  should  do  so  now.  I  think 
I  shall  be  doing  Sharon  a  good  turn 
by  driving  Mrs.  Babcock  and  her 
chorus  girl  granddaughter  out  of 
town." 

"Why,  grandfather—" 

"I  don't  want  to  hear  any  more  about 
it,"  he  interrupted.  "  My  mind  is  made 
up  and  I  shall  let  the  sale,  which  is  set 
for  tomorrow,  proceed." 

Without  more  words  he  hastily  picked 

17? 


up  his  hat  and  hurried  into  the  house, 
while  Sally  with  her  eyes  full  of  tears 
betook  herself  sadly  to  her  room. 

"I  can't  see  why  grandfather  should 
take  such  a  dislike  to  Maude  just  be- 
cause she  is  a  chorus  girl!"  exclaimed 
Sally  in  telling  Ruth  of  her  failure,  after 
supper. 

"Nor  I  either,"  replied  Ruth. 

"He  is  probably  influenced  by  stories 
he  may  have  read,  or  it  may  be  the 
effect  of  his  early  training,"  said  Del 
when  the  girls  were  talking  the  matter 
over  with  him  and  Win  later  in  the 
evening.  "  I  imagine  it  would  be  pretty 
hard  to  find  any  class  in  which  there 
are  not  some  black  sheep;  but  I  think 
we  should  be  judged  by  our  own 
thoughts  and  deeds.  That  seems  to 
me  righteous  judgment." 

"Perhaps  that  isn't  the  reason  he 
doesn't  like  Maude,"  suggested  Win. 
"That  may  be  just  an  excuse.  But 
when  I  think  of  what  she  has  done  for 
me,  it  makes  me  mad  to  hear  anyone 
say  a  word  against  her." 

178 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"False  judgment  is  no  judgment," 
declared  Del.  "Just  as  a  knowledge 
of  error  is  no  knowledge." 

"Is  that  another  case  of  the  *  no  road ' 
story?"  asked  Ruth. 

"Exactly,"  laughed  Del. 

"I  can't  see  it,"  said  Sally. 

"What  is  error?"  asked  Del. 

"Something  that  isn't  so,  a  mistake, 
of  course." 

"Well,  then,  how  could  a  belief  about 
anything  that  isn't  so,  be  knowledge  ?" 

"Because  you  would  know  it  wasn't 
so,"  laughed  Sally. 

"Let  me  put  it  to  you  another  way,' 
said  Del.  "To  know  that  twice  two 
are  four,  is  knowledge,  isn't  it?  Be- 
cause it  is  true." 

"Of  course." 

"Then  if  you  know  twice  two  are 
four,  you  can  not  know  that  twice  two 
are  five,  can  you?" 

"Of  course  not,"  replied  Sally.  "But 
you  can  know  that  twice  two  are  not 
five  —  " 

"Which  is  the  truth,"  laughed  Del. 

179 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Therefore,  just  as  a  knowledge  of  the 
correct  relation  of  figures  is  all  the 
knowledge  there  is  about  mathematics, 
so  is  a  knowledge  of  the  correct  con- 
dition about  anything,  all  the  knowl- 
edge there  is.  Hence  it  follows,  that 
good  being  true  and  evil,  its  opposite, 
untrue,  alt  the  knowledge  that  really 
exists  is  the  knowledge  of  good." 

"But  how  is  that  going  to  help  Aunt 
Becky  ?"  asked  Win,  just  for  the  sake  of 
saying  something  and  not  with  any 
expectation  of  receiving  a  reply. 

'A  whole  lot,"  replied  Del  earnestly. 
"If  it  is  right  for  Aunt  Becky  to  stay 
where  she  is,  she  will  stay.  I  know 
that,  because  right  is  truth  and  wrong 
is  error.  If  it  is  wrong  to  put  her  out, 
I  know  that  error  has  only  one  chance 
of  success  and  that  is  to  make  people 
believe  it  is  true  and  right." 

"Do  you  think  it  is  right  for  Aunt 
Becky  to  stay  where  she  is  ?"  asked 
Ruth. 

"It  is  right  for  everyone  to  have  a 
home;  that's  certain." 

180 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Grandfather  says  it  is  right  for 
him  to  have  his  money,"  said  Sally. 

"That  is  undoubtedly  true,  too," 
replied  Del.  "But  do  you  know  how 
much  Mr.  Dennison  claims." 

"Four  hundred  dollars,  everyone 
says,"  answered  Win. 

"Aunt  Becky  tells  me,"  said  Del, 
"that  all  he  ever  let  her  have  was  one 
hundred  dollars  and  that  was  in  goods 
from  his  store.  The  rest  is  interest, 
and  she  has  already  paid  more  interest 
than  the  original  account." 

Sally's  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she 
asked  in  a  broken  voice:  "Why  do  men 
do  such  things." 

"Because  business  and  money  are 
their  gods,"  declared  Del.  "To  such 
an  extent  do  they  worship  this  god  that 
they  are  unable  to  see  its  falsity.  In 
fact,  men  have  reached  a  point  where 
they  expect  the  very  treatment  from  their 
neighbors  that  Aunt  Becky  is  meeting 
from  your  grandfather  in  case  they  do 
not  obey  the  commandments  of  this 
false  god.  But  that  God  who  is  Love 

181 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

will,  I  am  sure,  in  some  way  prove  to 
Aunt  Becky  that  His  law  is  supreme." 

"I  do  pray  so,"  declared  Ruth,  "for 
it  seems  most  unjust  that  Aunt  Becky 
should  be  forced  to  leave  a  home  in 
which  she  has  lived  all  these  years  —  " 

"And  which  is  worth  a  good  deal 
more  than  what  she  owes  Mr.  Denni- 
son,"  interrupted  Win. 

1  What  things  soever  ye  desire,'  ' 
quoted  Del  in  reply  to  Ruth's  words, 
*   'when  ye  pray  believe  that  ye  receive 
them  ana  ye  shall  have  them.'  ' 

"Do  you?"  she  asked. 

"Why  not?"  asked  Del.  "And  to 
the  best  of  my  ability  I  try  to  make  my 
belief  practical." 

In  strict  accord  with  this  statement, 
Del  arose  early  the  next  morning  and 
made  his  way  to  Mr.  Dennison's  store. 

"You  have  a  claim  against  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Babcock,"  said  Del,  coming  at 
once  to  the  object  of  his  visit. 

"I  have,"  replied  Mr.  Dennison. 

"How  much  will  you  take  for  it?" 

182 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Four  hundred  dollars,  young  man. 
Not  a  cent  more,  or  a  cent  less.' 

"And  still,  Mr.  Dennison,  you  know 
that  she  has  more  than  paid  you  the 
amount  of  her  original  debt." 

"Business  is  business,"  declared  Mr. 
Dennison  grimly. 

"Then  you  know  no  higher  law?" 

"Not  in  a  matter  of  this  kind." 

For  a  moment  Del  was  silent.  Then 
he  said:  "Mr.  Dennison,  I  do  not  feel 
that  you  have  a  right  to  the  amount 
you  claim  —  " 

"What?"  interrupted  Mr.  Dennison, 
"you  think  — " 

"I  think  that  you  are  taking  what 
the  law  of  man  gives  you;  but  I  do  not 
think  you  are  acting  in  accord  with  the 
higher  law  of  Love.  But  I  am  not  here 
to  argue  that.  I  am  here  to  make  you 
an  oner.  I  have  some  money  which 
I  have  counted  much  upon  using  for 
another  purpose,  but  if  you  will  take 
two  hundred  dollars  and  release  your 
claim  against  this  aged  woman,  I  will 
give  it  to  you." 

183 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Why  should  I  take  two  hundred 
dollars  when  I  have  a  right  to  four 
hundred  dollars  and  can  get  it." 

''You  may  be  able  to  get  it,  but  I 
deny  your  right." 

"And  pray  what  is  my  right,  young 
man  ?" 

"I  am  unable  to  say;  but  I  am  will- 
ing to  make  it  double  the  debt,  for  we 
are  told  if  our  enemy  demand  that  we 

f3  a  mile  with  him,  we  should  go  twain, 
urthermore,  you  know  that  the  place 
is  worth  much  more  than  four  hundred 
dollars  and  that  you  have  no  more 
right  to  defraud  Mrs.  Babcock  out  of 
the  extra  value  than  she  has  to  keep 
you  out  of  your  rightful  claim." 

"She  has  a  perfect  right  to  bid  the 
place  in,"  declared  Mr.  Dennison  ris- 
ing. "Unless  you  can  pay  me  four 
hundred  dollars,  the  sale  must  go  on 
this  morning  as  advertised." 

Seeing  that  it  was  impossible  to 
change  Mr.  Dennison's  mind,  Del  took 
his  departure,  encountering  Herbert  as 
he  went  out. 

184 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"What  did  Del  Henderson  want  so 
early  in  the  morning?"  asked  Herbert 
of  his  grandfather. 

"He  wanted  me  to  release  my  claim 
against  Mrs.  Babcock  for  two  hundred 
dollars." 

"The  nerve  of  him!"  exclaimed  Bert. 
"And  who  would  pay  the  two  hundred 
dollars?" 

"He  said  he  would." 

"He  ?"  and  Bert  looked  at  his  grand- 
father to  see  if  he  were  joking. 

'Yes;  and  if  it  were  not  for  driving 
that  girl  out  of  town,  I  might  have  been 
tempted  to  take  it.  But  here  is  the 
other  chance  you  wanted,  to  prove  your 
ability  to  do  something.  If  you  were 
more  like  the  young  fellow  who  just 
went  out  I  should  have  more  faith  in 

you." 

Bert  bristled  up. 

"Don't  you  think  I  can  do  things 
just  as  well  as  Del  Henderson  ?"  he 
asked. 

"Maybe  you  can,"  replied  his  grand- 
father drily,  "but  you  haven't  proved  it. 

185 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 


now  listen,"  continued  Mr. 
Dennison.  "While  my  claim  is  four 
hundred  dollars,  I  want  to  get  the 
place  for  a  great  deal  less.  I  want  it 
said  in  the  community  that  I  gave 
everyone  a  fair  chance.  There  will  be 
no  one  to  bid  against  us,  unless  it  is 
this  young  Henderson,  and  he  has  only 
two  hundred  dollars.  I  want  you  to  go 
and  bid  the  place  in  at  the  auction  this 
morning.  Henderson  will  probably  bid 
two  hundred  dollars.  You  bid  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars  and  not  a 
cent  more.  Do  you  think  you  can  do 
this?" 

"Sure!" 

"Very  well  then,  but  no  mistakes. 
I  want  the  place,  but  I  want  it  for  two 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars." 


186 


CHAPTER  FIFTEEN 

Around  Aunt  Becky's  house  a  crowd 
of  curious  village  folk;  had  assembled. 
It  was  approaching  ten  o'clock,  the 
hour  set  for  the  sale.  Inside  the  house, 
Aunt  Becky  sat  reading  her  Bible  while 
by  her  side  was  Maude,  explaining  as 
best  she  could  the  simpler  meaning  of 
some  of  the  words  which  Aunt  Becky 
declared  she  "had  read  for  years  and 
never  did  have  no  idee  of  what  it  all 
meant." 

"'He  that  dwelleth  in  the  secret  place 
of  the  Most  High,'"  she  read  "'shall 
abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty.' Now  where  is  the  secret 
place  of  the  Most  High  ?"  she  asked. 

"The  secret  place  of  the  Most  High, 
grandmother,  is  where  God,  Spirit, 
dwells.  To  dwell  there  we  must  be  so 
spiritual,  so  clothed  in  love,  that  human 
hatred  can  not  disturb  us.  Then,  in- 

187 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

deed,  shall  no  plague  come  near  our 
dwelling." 

"Well,  that  would  certainly  keep 
Tom  Dennison  away,"  declared  Aunt 
Becky,  "for  he's  the  worst  plague  ever 
I  saw." 

While  they  were  talking  Del  and 
Uncle  Josiah  entered. 

"Good  morning,  Josiah,"  said  Aunt 
Becky  taking  her  old  neighbor's  hand 
while  Del  and  Maude  exchanged  greet- 
ings. "I  certainly  never  expected  you 
would  find  me  being  turned  out  of  my 
house  and  home." 

"It  is  pretty  tough,  Becky,  but  there 
are  other  places  in  Sharon  where  they'll 
be  glad  to  have  you  live.  Clara  wants 
you  and  Maude  to  come  up  and  spend 
tonight  with  us  and  tomorrow  we'll  talk 
over  the  future." 

"Suppose  you  take  no  thought  for  the 
morrow,"  laughed  Del.  "That's  what 
your  Bible  tells  you." 

"It  would  be  a  mighty  poor  man  that 
didn't  take  any  thought  for  the  mor- 
row," declared  Uncle  Josiah. 

188 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I  never  could  see  much  sense  in 
that  either,"  said  Aunt  Becky. 

"Have  you  any  idea  you  can  make 
things  different  by  worrying  over  them, 
grandmother?"  enquired  Maude. 

"And  worry  is  all  most  people  do 
who  believe  in  taking  thought  for  the 
morrow,"  laughed  Del.  "One  of  our 
professors  told  me  he  considered  the 
better  translation  of  that  phrase;  'be  not 
concerned  for  the  morrow,'  meaning 
absolutely  not  to  worry." 

"That  sounds  better,"  said  Aunt 
Becky,  "for  sufficient  to  the  day  is  the 
evil  tnereof." 

"And  the  good  thereof,  too,"  con- 
tinued Del.  "Why  not  think  of  that 
for  a  while." 

"Well  I  don't  see  much  good  in  this 
day,"  declared  Aunt  Becky,  emphati- 
cally. 

"Nor  I  either,  Becky,"  said  Uncle 
Josiah.  "But  Del,  here,  keeps  on 
declaring  thatgood  is  all  powerful  and 
that  neither  Tom  Dennison  nor  any- 

189 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

body  else  is  able  to  beat  it.  I  tell  him 
to  just  wait  awhile  and  he'll  see." 

"And  I  told  you  I  would,"  laughed 
Del. 

At  this  juncture  there  was  a  com- 
motion outside  and  directly  they  heard 
the  voice  of  the  Sheriff  saying: 

"This  sale,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  is 
to  take  place  under  an  act  of  foreclos- 
ure to  satisfy  a  claim  held  by  Thomas 
Dennison.  The  terms  are  cash;  or 
part  cash  and  thirty  days  time  on  good 
security.  Now,  then,  Mr.  Auctioneer, 
let's  see  what  sort  of  a  bid  you  can  get 
for  this  valuable  little  property." 

At  the  sound  of  the  voice  Aunt  Becky 
began  to  cry  softly  and  Uncle  Josiah 
said  some  strong  words  under  his 
breath,  while  Del  stepped  outside  to 
see  what  was  going  on. 

"Now  don't  cry,  Becky,"  said  Uncle 
Josiah  trying  his  best  to  comfort  the 
aged  woman.  ;<  You'll  be  taken  care 
of  all  right.  The  Lord  will  provide." 

"It  looks  to  me  as  though  the  Lord 
had  forgotten  all  about  me," 

190 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Not  a  sparrow  falleth,"  said  Maude. 
"  and  you  have  me.  To  be  sure  I  don't 
earn  much,  but  it  will  be  enough  to 
keep  you  from  want." 

Aunt  Becky  dried  her  eyes,  and  tak- 
ing Maude's  hand  pressed  it  against 
her  cheek. 

"No  matter  what  they  take  away 
from  me,  they  can't  take  you  —  can 
they,  honey?" 

Maude  leaned  over  and  kissed  the 
thin  gray  hair  while  Uncle  Josiah  drew 
the  back  of  his  hand  across  his  eyes 
and  cleared  his  throat  with  a  loud 
noise. 

Then  suddenly  he  stopped  to  listen. 
What  was  that  he  heard !  No,  he  could 
not  have  been  mistaken.  It  was  Del's 
voice  bidding  two  hundred  dollars. 

"What's  the  boy  thinking  of,"  he 
said  to  himself.  "Why,  he  can't  expect 
to  beat  Tom  Dennison;  and  if  he  does 
it'll  take  every  cent  he's  got  to  go  to 
Europe  on,"  and  Uncle  Josiah  hastened 
outside  to  watch  the  proceedings. 

"Two  hundred  dollars  I'm  bid  for 

191 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

this  beautiful  little  property,"  sang  the 
auctioneer.  "Only  two  hundred  dol- 
lars. Why  it's  worth  a  thousand  of  any 
man's  money.  Who'll  make  it  three 
hundred  ?" 

As  Uncle  Josiah  could  see,  the  only 
other  bidder  was  Herbert  Jones.  He 
was  standing  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  crowd  from  Del  with  a  sneer  on  his 
lip,  and  at  a  nod  from  the  auctioneer 
bid  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

'Two  hundred  and  fifty,"  called  the 
auctioneer.  "Twro  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars.  A  ridiculous  price,  gentle- 
men, for  this  beautiful  property.  Look 
about  you,  gentlemen,"  and  ne  swept 
his  arm  around. 

A  smile  passed  over  the  faces  of  the 
spectators,  for  Aunt  Becky's  home  had 
very  little  about  it  that  could  be  called 
beautiful,  except  the  wilderness  of  roses 
in  the  front  yard. 

"Two  hundred  and  fifty  I'm  bid," 
he  continued,  "who'll  make  it  three 
hundred  ?" 

192 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Two  hundred  and  seventy-five," 
said  Del  quietly. 

"Two  Hundred  and  seventy-five," 
called  the  auctioneer.  "Two  hundred 
and  seventy-five.  Make  it  three  hun- 
dred, Mr.  Jones,"  looking  significantly 
at  Bert. 

But  there  was  no  answering  response 
on  Bert's  lip.  Instead,  his  face  turned 
pale  and  he  looked  hopelessly  about. 
He  had  his  grandfather's  order  not  to 
pay  more  than  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  and  still  he  was  sure  he  ought 
to  bid.  After  a  pause,  therefore,  he  bid 
three  hundred  dollars. 

Then  he  whispered  to  a  boy  at  his 
side  who  started  for  town  on  a  run. 

"That's  right,"  exclaimed  the  auc- 
tioneer. "I  knew  you  would  never  let 
this  beautiful  property  go  to  a  stranger 
for  such  a  small  sum.  Three  hundred 
dollars  I'm  bid."  Then  to  Del.  "Shall 
I  make  it  three  hundred  and  fifty." 

"Three  hundred  and  twenty-five," 
said  Del. 

"Three   hundred   and   twenty-five,'* 

193 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

called  the  auctioneer.  "Now,  Mr. 
Jones,  shall  I  say  three  fifty." 

Herbert  shook  his  head.  He  did 
not  dare  bid  any  more  and  he  watched 
the  boy,  whom  he  had  sent  to  call  his 
grandfather,  legging  it  down  the  road. 

"What,"  exclaimed  the  auctioneer. 
"You  are  going  to  let  this  valuable 
home  go  for  three  hundred  and  twenty- 
five  dollars?'*  Then  looking  around. 
"Who  else  wants  to  bid  on  this  beauti- 
ful property  ?" 

There  was  no  response. 

"Very  well,  then.  If  there  are  no 
more  offers  I  shall  feel  obliged  to  sell 
to  the  highest  bidder.  Three  hundred 
and  twenty-five  dollars  I'm  offered  — 
and  no  more  ?" 

Again  he  looked  at  Bert  but  that 
young  man  stood  with  blanched  face, 
utterly  unable  to  speak. 

"Three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dol- 
lars once,"  called  the  auctioneer;  "three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  twice; 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars 
—  third  and  last  call,  gentlemen  —  " 

194 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"Wait!  Wait!"  Bert  finally  managed 
to  cry  out.  "My  grandfather  wants  the 
place.  I  know  he'll  bid  more." 

The  auctioneer  looked  at  the  sheriff. 

"The  sale  cannot  be  stopped,"  ex- 
claimed that  official. 

"Three  hundred  and  twenty- five  dol- 
lars," again  began  the  auctioneer. 

"He  hasn't  got  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,"  almost  shrieked 
Bert. 

The  auctioneer  looked  at  Del. 

"You  understand  the  terms  of  the 
sale,  do  you  not  ?"  he  asked. 

"Perfectly.  The  money  will  be  paid 
at  once." 

"And  I'll  vouch  for  it!"  exclaimed 
Uncle  Josiah  pushing  his  way  forward 
in  his  excitement.  "Anything  this  boy 
buys  he  can  pay  for." 

"If  you  say  so,  Uncle  Josiah,  it's  all 
right,'  said  the  sheriff  good-naturedly. 
Then  to  the  auctioneer.  "Go  on  with 
the  sale." 

"Three  hundred  and  twenty-five  dol- 
lars once;  three  hundred  and  twenty- 

195 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

five  dollars  twice,  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars  three  times  —  and 
sold  to  — ' 

"My  grandson,  Adelbert  Hender- 
son," called  out  Uncle  Josiah  triumph- 
antly as  he  elbowed  his  way  through  the 
villagers  and  grabbed  Del  by  the  hand. 
"So  that's  what  you  meant  by  saying 
good  was  all  powerful !" 

Del  laughed  as  he  pressed  his  grand- 
father's hand. 

"You  told  me  if  I  stayed  here  till 
Thomas  Dennison  was  ready  to  turn 
Aunt  Becky  out,  I'd  see  there  was  no 
power  to  stop  him  and  I  told  you  I'd 
wait  around  and  see.  I'm  glad  I 
waited." 

Del  was  just  about  to  step  forward 
to  the  auctioneer,  when  a  terrible  com- 
motion was  heard,  and  down  the  road, 
with  his  coat  tails  streaming  out  behind, 
came  Thomas  Dennison  as  fast  as  his 
long  legs  could  carry  him,  calling  at  the 
top  of  his  voice : 

"Five  hundred  dollars!     Five  hun- 

196 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

dred  dollars.  I'll  bid  five  hundred 
dollars!" 

A  great  laugh  went  around  the  throng 
and  there  was  no  doubt  that  everyone 
present  was  glad  at  the  turn  the  affair 
had  taken.  They  were  still  laughing 
when  Mr.  Dennison  came  near  enough 
for  the  auctioneer  to  say: 

"  You're  too  late,  Mr.  Dennison,  the 
place  has  been  sold  to  Mr.  Henderson 
of  New  York." 

Mr.  Dennison's  face  fell.  Then 
catching  sight  of  Herbert  he  shouted: 

"You  ignoramus!  You  call  yourself 
a  grandson  of  mine.  Get  out  of  my 
sight  and  never  come  near  me  again! 
You'll  never  make  a  business  man  as 
long  as  you  live." 

"But,  grandfather  —  "  began  Bert 
about  to  excuse  himself. 

"Don't  grandfather  me!"  said  the 
old  man  angrily.  "Go  home  and  stay 
there  till  I  send  for  you,"  and,  crest- 
fallen, Bert  obeyed. 

"A  pretty  piece  of  business  this," 
exclaimed  Mr.  Dennison  turning  to  the 

197 


A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

sheriff.  "A  fine  place  like  this  sold 
for  less  than  enough  to  satisfy  my 
claim." 

"That's  no  affair  of  mine,"  replied 
the  sheriff. 

"Excuse  me,  Mr.  Dennison,"  said 
Del  stepping  forward,  "it  may  not  have 
brought  enough  to  satisfy  your  claim, 
for  your  claim  is  unjust,  but  it  brought 
more  than  enough  to  pay  what  is  your 
just  due.  I  believe  this  is  now  mv 
place,  and  I  will  be  greatly  obliged  if 
you  will  free  it  of  your  presence  until 
you  are  in  a  better  frame  of  mind. 
Then  I  am  sure  you  will  be  most 
welcome." 

Mr.  Dennison  turned  and  left  with- 
out a  word,  while  Del  and  Uncle  Josiah 
stepped  inside  the  house  with  the 
officials,  where  the  purchase  money 
was  paid  over  and  a  court  receipt  given. 

"It  must  have  taken  about  all  the 
money  you  had,"  said  Uncle  Josiah  as 
he  saw  Del  putting  his  purse  back  into 
his  pocket.  "You'll  hardly  be  able  to 
sell  the  place  in  time  to  go  to  Europe." 

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A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

"I'm  not  going  to  Europe,"  replied 
Del. 

"Not  going  to  Europe!"  exclaimed 
Uncle  Josiah  and  Maude  in  the  same 
breath.  "Not  going  to  Europe!" 

"No!  I'm  having  more  real  down- 
right pleasure  here  than  I  could 
possibly  get  out  of  a  trip  abroad." 

Then  turning  to  Aunt  Becky,  he  said : 
"Unless  you  wish  to  accept  grand- 
mother's invitation  to  pay  her  a  visit, 
there  will  be  no  occasion  for  your 
leaving  the  house.  It  is  still  yours." 

Aunt  Becky  strove  to  speak,  but  her 
voice  failed  her.  She  could  only  look 
her  thankfulness,  while  Maude,  her 
eyes  filled  with  tears,  exclaimed  im- 
pulsively : 

!<  Your  sacrifice  is  too  great.  We  can 
not  accept  it!" 

"It  is  no  sacrifice  at  all.  I  never  had 
such  a  good  time  in  my  life  as  I  have 
had  this  morning  in  making  my  under- 
standing of  the  omnipotence  of  good 
practical.  If  you  should  allow  some 
misapprehension  to  prevent  your  accept- 

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A  ROYAL  GOOD  FELLOW 

ance  of  what  has  been  sent  you  through 
a  very  humble  channel,  you  would  mar 
my  happiness  more  than  I  can  express." 

Uncle  Josiah  laid  his  hand  on  the 
young  man's  shoulder  and  patted  him 
affectionately,  as  he  said: 

"I  certainly  am  proud  of  you,  my 
boy.  No  wonder  that  Win  says  you're 
a  good  fellow." 

Maude's  eyes  glistened  with  the  tears 
she  could  not  shed  because  of  the  joy 
that  filled  her  heart,  and  in  reply  to 
Uncle  Josiah's  words  exclaimed: 

"That  he  is,  Uncle  Josiah,  in  all  that 
the  term  implies — a  royal  good  fellow !" 

And  Del,  laughing  lightly  as  he  drew 
Uncle  Josiah  gently  toward  the  door, 
replied : 

"Of  course,  for  good  fellows  are 
really  the  only  kind  there  are." 


THE  END. 


200 


